To Be Found
by turtlequeen2
Summary: AU: Yamaguchi Inuyasha is blind and deaf. For twelve years he is cast into his own world of isolation and darkness. Higurashi Kagome is sent to teach him. They both gain much more than they bargain for. Inu:Kago, Kagu:Sess, San:Mir. Warning: Angst.
1. Prologue: Blackness

**Disclaimer:**

Okay, for those of you who know me, you should assume that I hate most AUs. So…this is just as much a shock to me as much as it should be for you. This is my first Inuyasha AU!

The reason I started this is because many people have told me that writing an AU would be a challenge and I _have_ needed a challenge for a while.

I know that many have already heard of a blind Kagome or even a blind Inuyasha in the Sengoku Jidai that came about because of poisoning or whatnot. Well, this is…a very original twist of that…which contains a lot of angst. This story is also in current times.

Before I get reviews and questions of "demon" or human identities, I'll say this now. Since there is no reason for all of the youkai to need powers or etcetera, they are all HUMAN. Don't worry much, though; I'll be sure to include some action and try my best to maintain in-character-ness.

The next few chapters will be loosely based on Helen Keller's life since watching a documentary on her is what sparked this new "project" for me.

Rumiko Takahashi is the only one who owns Inuyasha. I give thanks to Inu Youkai Wanna Be and Kagura615 for helping me edit!

Touga is the Inu no Taishou's cast name on the Inuyasha 3rd Movie though it is not his "official" name.

And without further ado, onto my very first AU! Hopefully, it doesn't suck…O.o;

**

* * *

Prologue **

**Blackness**

A birth of a new life requires celebration, right? What about the child's first words or steps?

For Touga and his wife, Izayoi, it was _supposed_ to be that way.

With the birth of their new son, they should have realized that something was wrong with him when the baby had difficulty crying. The doctors waved it off as temporary, thus relieving the parents of the burden of worrying. After all, what parents would want to deal with depression and worriment on the day of their child's birth? Especially if the problem was dubbed as temporary and was experienced by many newborns in the first place…

The boy was a beautiful bundle, sure to make any mother and father proud. A light layer of black hair was on the boy's head. The infant made small gurgling noises and his newborn blue eyes gleamed with the light of curiosity the first time he had the chance to look up at his parents and older sibling.

The wonderment of the child and the small noises he was capable of making, reminded them of a small puppy. Thus, his name became "Inuyasha."

Within the first few hectic weeks of taking care of the baby, the infant's blue hues melted into the rare violet color of his father and brothers' eyes. The child acted like any other; crying when something was wrong and giggling when all was well.

By the time Inuyasha reached the age of eight months old, he began to crawl.

When he was one and a half, he began to speak his first words.

The family was happy with the exception of the small outbreaks that occurred between Inuyasha and his older brother who was six years old at the time. However, that was to be expected from a new older brother that was still adapting to getting less attention from his parents.

The next few years were fine as well with Inuyasha entering school at the age of five. He seemed normal until he caught his first illness…

* * *

"What is wrong with Brother _now_?" Inuyasha's eleven-year-old older brother, Sesshoumaru, demanded the afternoon he was released early from school by his step-mother. By no means was he upset for being taken out of school. However, he was concerned about his brother. Despite not being able to get along with him on a regular basis, he still loved Inuyasha.

By the tone of his voice, it meant that lately, his younger brother's condition was nothing that just happened overnight.

Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru was the product of Touga and his previous wife's marriage. After catching a rare form of cancer, Sesshoumaru's mother died, leaving Touga to cope with his two-year-old son. Since the boy was so young, he barely remembered his mother and was easily able to accept Izayoi after his father fell in love and married her.

Her dark brown eyes briefly glanced at the boy who she considered to be her biological son. "I…I honestly _don't_ know, Sesshoumaru," she murmured, nearly choking on a sob. After making sure that both of their seat belts were on, she turned the car keys in the ignition and quickly pulled onto the road in a haste. "You know about his fever and illness not going away for the past month, I'm sure…" She took the car into a sharp turn, taking them to the center of Tokyo where the hospital was near.

"Well, it kept getting worse. This morning…Inuyasha began to throw a tantrum…" she continued, a small tear sliding down her cheek as she kept her eyes on the road.

"And how is that any different from his regular ones?" he asked, sounding skeptical. Despite only being ten, he was intelligent and understood most of the concepts that were explained to him.

"This time, he began to grab pots and pans and began to throw them around. He was making incoherent noises like he couldn't speak…and when your father arrived home after I called him, he tried to console Inuyasha…" Another tear slid down the woman's cheek. "…and…Inuyasha acted as if he couldn't even _see_ him! He only stared straight ahead like an empty doll!"

"Where is he and Father?" the boy questioned in a sharp tone.

"They are both at the hospital of which we are heading to," came the simple explanation.

Sesshoumaru gave a nod, his shoulder-length black hair swishing behind him. "I hope he's all right…"

"I hope so, too."

After the two arrived at the hospital, they went in and asked for the room Inuyasha was taken to. Upon arriving to the small room, both were in the shock of their lives.

The young boy was strapped onto the bed set in the middle of the area. He was sleeping with one transparent tube placed in each pale arm.

Izayoi's eyes widened with sudden terror and anger. "What are they doing to him?!" she demanded to her husband, who was sitting in a chair that was next to the bed.

His face was buried in his hands. The man looked up, his expression noticeably solemn and full of sadness. It was evident that he was crying earlier based on the few streaks that were left on his face. "He…he kept struggling…" he only murmured as if his mind had already snapped.

"'Struggling'?" his wife echoed.

"Ever since he began his tantrum earlier, he hadn't stopped moving or resisting others until just an hour ago. He hasn't awoken ever since," Touga explained.

Sesshoumaru cautiously paced over to where his brother lay asleep. He grasped the unconscious boy's hand and squeezed it lightly. "Brother…" he only said.

The parents looked at the brothers with solemn expressions. Their eyes reflected sadness and frowned marred their lips, appearing more haggard than most people their age.

The moment of sudden silence was broken when a doctor walking into the room. His short, ruffled brick-red hair managed to shadow his deeply concentrated countenance. He stared at Izayoi and asked, "Are you Yamaguchi-san?"

"Yes," she replied, immediately answering and expecting the information she wanted. "Do you know what is wrong with him?"

The doctor shot her a look of sympathy. "I am sorry, but no…" he responded. He gave them all a small smile. "However, if he can keep him overnight, we may be able to figure this out. Although, I do know one thing and it is that this condition of his is not one that will take his life."

Both Izayoi and Touga let out small breaths of relief at the kind doctor's information. It was more news that they knew before he came in.

The woman cast a gaze at her son and looked up at the doctor once more. "Could you please un-strap my son from the bed? It will only make him panic more if he wakes up with them still on," she requested. "I'm sure that I'll be able to calm him down."

"Oh, of course," the doctor replied, immediately unbinding the white straps that held the boy to the bed. He was careful to keep the tubes on his arms since it kept the boy monitored and under medication for his leftover fevers.

"Thank you very much," she responded with a small smile in place. "May I ask what your name is?" she then questioned.

"Of course. You can call me Dr. Keiji," he answered. "Just buzz the red button here…" the man then instructed, pointing to said-button above the bed, "…if there is any trouble."

"We'll be sure to do so if any problems should arise," Touga managed to say in his gruff voice.

With those last words, the man nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the family by themselves.

Izayoi sank into a chair that rested beside her husband and felt another sob rack her body. "W-what are we going to do?" she demanded.

"Well, you heard the doctor," Touga said, trying his best to comfort his wife, embracing her and rubbing her back. "He said that it is not life-threatening."

"…Yes, but they still no idea what is wrong with Inuyasha," she pointed out.

While they argued, Sesshoumaru stayed on the opposite side of his brother and stared down at him. "Get up…" he commanded in a whisper as if the action would happen if he willed it to. "You're making Mother and Father worry."

* * *

The family stayed the night in the hospital. Neither Touga nor Izayoi slept while Sesshoumaru got to rest in a make-shift bed made up of two chairs placed together.

The older brother awoke to shouting made by doctors, nurses, his parents, and his sibling.

As expected, Inuyasha awoke and began to panic. Unfortunately, his parents underestimated the boy's strength and persistence, eventually needing assistance in getting the child to calm down.

After a few minutes, Inuyasha's breathing slowed and he stopped thrashing around like a fish above water. The medical personnel allowed sighs of relief to escape him. He was being less difficult to deal with.

Touga bent down to Inuyasha's ear and murmured, "Inuyasha, can you hear me?"

To this, the child gave no verbal response. He stared blankly at the ceiling.

Izayoi lightly shook her younger son in an attempt to get his attention. "Inuyasha? Please answer me!" she pleaded.

He harshly swapped his mother's hand away and remained motionless afterward.

Izayoi's eyes widened at the cruel reaction her son performed.

The same male doctor from the previous night rushed forward with a small stick with a bright light shining from the end. He quickly shone the light in Inuyasha's eyes. After getting no movement of the eyes or any physical reaction from the child, he came to a conclusion.

"He…he's blind…"

The Yamaguchi family all grew shocked as if they were all slapped across the face. How could their family member become blind?!

Izayoi and Touga both witnessed him the previous day when he stared blankly past them, but never did it register to them that he was blind!

A nurse questioned Dr. Keiji by asking, "However, would it explain his violent behavior…?"

"It would explain it if he was also deaf," the man responded in concentration. "His rash behavior is a reaction of panic and fear brought upon the fact that he is no longer able to communicate with the ones around him. His only way is to react is by violent actions until he can get someone's attention."

"But…how can you be so sure?" Izayoi could not help but ask in a quivering voice.

"He gave no response when your husband spoke to him."

"That could be for any reason!" Touga exclaimed in hysterics, desperately holding on to that last possibility. He wanted for more than anything in the world for his son to not be as limited as such.

The doctor sighed, waving a few of the nurses out of the room, leaving behind one female nurse and one other doctor. "We can run some tests just to be certain…"

"Good. Please do so, Dr. Keiji," Touga stated, his voice lowering in volume.

The doctor nodded and the remaining three hospital staff members in the room got a moveable bed into the area and placed Inuyasha on it with surprisingly little trouble. After the task was completed, they rushed out of the room, leaving behind worried family members.

Touga and his wife slumped back into their chairs. It was going to be another long night.

* * *

"H-how…?" Izayoi demanded, dropped down to her knees on the cold tile floor of the hospital. Her eyes held wild emotions within them. Sadness. Hurt. Shock. Fear.

Dr. Keiji shook his head out of sympathy for the distraught mother. "I am very sorry, Yamaguchi-san…"

In a comforting manner, Touga rested on his knees beside his wife and held her sob-racked body.

"My child…Inuyasha...h-he's blind _and_ d-deaf!" she choked out, her hands covering her tear-streaked face.

Inuyasha's father looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes. "Is there no treatment that you can give him?" he questioned with desperation flavoring his tone.

Sesshoumaru merely stared at his brother's sleeping body in silent surprise. "He cannot see or hear…?" he whispered.

The doctor hung his head in front of the distraught father. "I am afraid not, Sir. Your son has a rare disorder that is called Usher syndrome. What is even more strange is that he had gotten the dormant type three to which there is no cure for. There is not even proper treatment for this disease," he explained, his voice heavy.

"Are you sure that it is this the 'Usher syndrome' of which you speak of?" Touga asked while still consoling his wife.

"Yes, I am certain just as much as my medical staff is," the doctor answered. "It has happened because of a mutation in one of his specific genes." He then looked at both parents with a concerned gaze. "Has there been anyone in your family that has had this condition?" he questioned.

"No…this is the first time that we have heard of this…_disorder_," Touga said. He pronounced the word "disorder" like dripping acid.

"Ah, very well then," Dr. Keiji mused. "Then it was caused by mere mutation…" He sighed. "This illness must have been dormant within him until this simple fever broke out…and now that the fever has receded, being blind and deaf is what is left behind."

His words rang true since the boy was no longer hooked up to tubes nor was he as pale as he originally was when he was taken into the hospital.

Izayoi stared up at the man and demanded, "Is there anything that we can do to help him?"

"Well, firstly, I would consider pulling him out of his normal school and placing him in a special communications school. Or…perhaps, even _home_-school him. Usher syndrome affects the retina of the eye and to treat the retina is a procedure that is still being developed!" he remarked, trying his best to give good suggestions. "As for him being deaf, no hearing aid will ever be able to work. He is about ninety-five percent deaf in both ears."

"It is _that _bad, already?" Touga gasped.

"Unfortunately," the man responded with a nod.

Another distraught sob escaped from the concerned mother. "H-how will we communicate with him?!"

"Through smell and touch," the man answered. "Those are your only available options…"

Upon hearing this news, Sesshoumaru cast another surprised glance at his brother. How could one pick on a brother who was handicapped? There was no fun in that! Not to mention, how could he mention this to anyone at school?

Deep inside though, the older brother knew that this meant that their relationship could never be the same again. That was what made him the most depressed.

Silence echoed through the room when everyone noticed that Inuyasha began to rouse once more. He made a tiny noise that sounded like a growl. His sightless violet eyes roamed around the room as he sat up from his bed.

"Is he going to go berserk again?" Sesshoumaru wondered out loud.

Izayoi stood up on shaky feet and calmly shook her head. "No, I don't think so. At least not this time…" she answered. She cast a gaze at the doctor and then requested, "May we check him out of the hospital since there is nothing more that you can do for him?"

"A-are you certain that you want to do that so quickly?" Dr. Keiji stuttered, caught off guard by the sudden question.

She scowled at him. "You just said that there was nothing that you could do for him so why should we waste our time here any further?"

Touga mentally cringed. It was the first time since she was pregnant with Inuyasha that he had seen her frown. Nothing was well in the world if one ever saw Izayoi Yamaguchi scowl.

The medical official was stumped by what she uttered. "Uh, if you are sure about leaving so soon." Sighing, he added, "However, I expect him to come back for frequent checkups and if something goes wrong, you can always call the emergency number."

"I understand," she nodded, her frown quickly getting replaced with a calm expression.

After an hour of further discussion, getting Inuyasha situated in the car, and signing papers, the Yamaguchi family was on their way back to their house to which was situated on the outskirts of Tokyo.

For the next six years, the family began life anew with Inuyasha's new conditions. About once a week, the boy had to be taken to the hospital and he became home-schooled.

He had to relearn how to walk on his own by merely feeling around the house and smelling the rooms. When he first returned to his home, he felt like a stranger in the place even though he lived there all of his life. It was a completely new and unfortunate experience for him.

As he grew older, his tantrums occurred less and less until they stopped completely around his parents. By this time, he was able to recognize them by their hand shapes when they touched him and by their familiar scents.

However, since Sesshoumaru became more and more distant due to his newly found teenage life and lack of communication with his brother, Inuyasha still occasionally lashed out at him. After the first few times, their ties as brothers grew thin on the prospect of liking one another.

Touga and Izayoi tried their best to make the two get along, but nothing really seemed to work. The family communicated to the boy by use of touching his arms, chest, or face in certain ways to show him what they meant. He merely learned to copy and interpret the "language" on his own.

Because of fear of people not understanding Inuyasha's condition, his parents agreed to home-school him though the boy learned very little considering how he communicated. After a year, they stopped his schooling altogether.

For these few years, this was how life was for the family. That is until the inevitable happened…

* * *

It was a dark and wet road Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's parents drove on. They were rushing back to their home so they could be in time for Inuyasha's eleventh birthday.

The route they took was empty…or so they thought...

A rather large freight truck was rushing at an even higher speed in the opposite direction. It did not help that the street was already narrow with only one lane on each side.

The Yamaguchi's took a turn a bit too fast and was immediately blinded by the bright headlights of the truck. They collided with each other. The front of the family's red car was quickly crushed; the front window shattered.

The parents were killed instantly.

* * *

When word was released that the parents were killed, the brothers were devastated.

Well, Inuyasha did not exactly get "word" of it. Rather, he felt it in the air. There were the rare soft touches of his brother's hand on his arm. He felt the wetness of a teardrop and smelt the salt in the air. He never knew that his brother could cry. It would be the only time in his life that he would be able to have that experience with Sesshoumaru.

In return, for the first time since he was ill, Inuyasha also shed tears out of his sightless eyes. They brothers shared a long embrace before the elder brother walked out of Inuyasha's room.

Sesshoumaru said nothing to no one the entire day. It was as if his system completely shut down. After that intimate moment with his brother, he refused to shed tears for the rest of the day. It was as if he turned emotionless.

Instead, he stared out of the small window in his room. He watched the rain fall down outside—watched it hit the transparent glass hard. The rain showed the emotions that he refused to show any longer.

With them was an old woman sent there by children's services. The worker had seen the boys before when she had to check up on Inuyasha and make sure that the family's house was a good environment for the child.

Now, she had to determine whether or not it was safe for the seventeen-year-old was old enough to take care of Inuyasha. The woman knew that after witnessing Inuyasha's tantrums a few times that he would not listen to reason unless it was from his own family.

The short, white-haired woman knocked on Sesshoumaru's door and after hearing no response, walked in cautiously. "Excuse me, Sesshoumaru-san?" she called out in a solemn voice.

He gave no answer, but turned away from the window to stare at her.

The expression on his face put her on edge. His eyes almost looked _empty. _His countenance was that of cold ice.

She cleared her voice nervously and continued. "I understand the sadness you must be experiencing—"

He cut her off. "Truly? I am only left with a brother that cannot even communicate with me properly. I have just discovered that my parents are dead because they rushed home to see _him_." The style by which he referred to his brother in was chilling. He sounded regretful and hateful.

Sure, he cried with Inuyasha just a few minutes before, but it did not change the fact that he knew that deep down his parents sped to their deaths in order to see Inuyasha. _Not_ him. His _brother_.

She bowed her head in a fashion of forgiveness. "I am very sorry. You are right. I cannot understand your emotions at the level you are at currently. However, there are a few issues I must discuss with you even though it may be difficult…"

"I am aware of why you are here, Kaede-san," he replied curtly. "You want to determine whether or not I am capable of raising Inuyasha on my own."

After she gave him a nod, he continued. "Seeing that I am the only one who can make limited communication with him, there is no use to assign him another caretaker."

"I see where you are getting to, but you are still underage. I still will have to check up on you often if this is allowed by my office," Kaede explained.

"Very well then. You can come and check up on us if you are doubtful," he concluded, his eerily icy tone not expressing the frustration he inwardly felt.

"It is not that simple."

"It is not?" he echoed, raising his eyebrow.

"No," she answered. "See…if it is found that you cannot take care of Inuyasha-san then he is to be taken to a special handicapped center."

He gave her a small nod of understanding. "I understand."

"It is a blessing that your parents left behind a substantial amount of money for you two to live on," the woman commented. "Otherwise, both of you would have already been taken away from here."

It was true at what she said. The Yamaguchi family was surprisingly wealthy. Touga was a top executive at the Toyota Company. It was the reason that they were able to afford Inuyasha's outrageous hospital bills and still live fairly comfortably.

"So…if you could please sign these?" Kaede requested, handing Sesshoumaru several papers.

The teenager took the papers and did as he was asked. After giving the old woman the parchment, he asked, "Is that all you came here for?"

"Yes, I believe so," she replied.

"Then, by my request, could you please leave me and my brother alone for a bit?" A flash of depression shone in Sesshoumaru's eyes for a brief moment, making Kaede realize that despite hiding his emotions, he was still greatly troubled by his parent's deaths.

She was taken aback by his sudden tone of pleading. "Uh…of course," she stuttered out, walking out of the boy's room. Before closing the door behind her, she called out, "Goodbye, Sesshoumaru-san."

He gave her no acknowledgment. He merely turned his attention back towards the window as if she did not exist to him.

Before she left the house, she paced to Inuyasha's room and softly glanced at his slumped over form in the darkness.

The boy knew that he was no longer alone in the room based on the new, foreign scent that drifted in his room. He turned in her direction and the expression that he gave her chilled her heart.

Tears trailed down his cheeks and despite not being able to see through his eyes, his expression still resembled despair. In one motion, he managed to punch his fist into the floorboards, busting out a small hole.

This simple motion made Kaede know that he did not care about her presence. He was only expressing his emotions in the only way he could—by using violence.

A single tear slipped down the old woman's face. She could feel the utter pain in the air. "You poor boys…" she sighed, backing out of the room. She walked out of the house and shut the door behind her.

Left behind in the dark house, were the two brothers, now more alone than ever.

Sesshoumaru now had no family members that were alive besides the brother he could not even talk to.

Inuyasha now had no one to communicate with that could understand his condition. Sesshoumaru was one who could interpret what he needed or wanted, but it was not as if he could get along with him.

This was merely the beginning of the darkness—the blackness of Inuyasha's life.

* * *

A/N: Yes, Usher syndrome is a real disorder. It is very rare to acquire also. In all honesty, I'm not sure if it can be acquired in Japan because it is said that the geographic location determines where the syndrome "strikes." Inuyasha has type III Usher syndrome which is even more rare than the other two types.

This is a link that tells you more about this disorder: http // en. wikipedia. org / wiki / Usher syndrome

I know that there is now such a thing where one can use sign language with blind people as well, but the main reason that no one was assigned to Inuyasha was because of his temper. He was never comfortable with others.

I am aware that this prologue is a little "dark," but it will get a little more "happy" in later chapters. However, the one problem I have with this fan fiction is that I cannot guarantee that I will update regularly. I have many other fanfic projects to work on and I uploaded this fic merely to see the reactions of my readers because this is my first ever AU fic. Hopefully, this is a good start to an awesome fan fiction.

I hope I will never have to write this much A/Ns again because I'm sure that it's annoying to the readers as well as it is for me to write them. Haha.

Please review! Criticism is welcome.

Ja ne!


	2. Calming Flowers

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: Well, I'm back sooner than expected!

Inuyasha: Keh! What the hell is wrong with you, wench? Why do you always torture me?! Torture Sesshoumaru or even that wimpy wolf instead of me!

Turtlequeen2: By the way, you are able to talk in disclaimers since I'm sure most Inuyasha fan girls would appreciate your crude language on occasion...

Inuyasha: Keh!

Turtlequeen2: Anyways…much thanks to my reviewer ForgottenKaze!

Thanks also to my editor: Inu Youkai Wanna Be

I don't own Inuyasha—only Rumiko Takahashi does.

**

* * *

Chapter 1 **

**Calming Flowers**

Inuyasha sat mute, facing the bright raze of the sun that was splashing against his countenance. The light illuminated his sightless violet eyes. His large wooden chair usually faced the window because he liked feeling the warmth even though he could not see the sun, itself. His black hair was now unkempt and long enough to where he sat on the strands.

A woman in white attire walked into the spacious room he lived in. Touching his arm lightly, she spoke aloud despite knowing that he could not hear her. "Inuyasha, I brought your meal." She sat the tray down in front of him and took her place across from him.

He sniffed the air, knowing that the familiar nurse walked into his domain with nourishment. He tore his face away from the window and turned to face the woman.

"Hopefully, you eat today…" she sighed, pushing a spoon against his lips.

To her relief, he opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him. Today, the food was soft rice with salmon.

In all honesty, he was capable of feeding himself. It was just there was often…mess leftover each time. Not to mention, that since new people entered his room nearly every day, he was known to throw a few tantrums since he did not know the new scents.

After the meal was over, she quickly packed up the dirtied dishes and walked out of the room, shutting the heavy yellow door shut behind her.

Inuyasha lightly cringed, feeling the floor shake beneath his feet. Despite five years of feeling the same vibration on the hard, tiled floor, he still was not used to the sensation.

He was now seventeen and living in a center that cared for the handicapped. He was one of many in the place that was either blind or deaf. However, he was the only one there that had both problems.

Turning back towards the window, he scowled, remembering how the slamming door felt as unpleasant or perhaps even less pleasant than the sensations he felt when he thought about his brother.

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

After children services gave Sesshoumaru permission to watch over Inuyasha on his own, the brothers' relationship began to take a drastic turn for the worst.

Sesshoumaru managed to make sure that Inuyasha was well feed and cared for, but their relationship was nothing less than hectic.

The elder brother only grew more colder with each passing month they lived together. The more he thought about his parent's deaths, the more he hated Inuyasha. He thought that his younger brother was the one to blame because if it was not for him, their parents wouldn't have had to rush back to their house, causing their car crash.

For the year, his daily schedule consisted of making Inuyasha breakfast and helping him eat the food, attending school, doing his own homework, fixing Inuyasha dinner, helping his brother bathe, and allowing himself some quiet thinking time. His patience with his brother was warring very thin because still, Inuyasha found ways to lash out at him.

Inuyasha acted disobedient because he knew that his brother did not care about him. He only did these things to keep him alive and so the children services would not come bother the two. Deep down, he could feel Sesshoumaru's growing hatred towards him. Inuyasha knew that the teenager blamed him for their parent's deaths. This in turn, made him act hostile, allowing him to express that he did not kill their parents and that he did not deserve the blame.

However, over time, his violent acts increased because he began to believe his brother. He began to feel guilt.

Sesshoumaru constantly expressed his emotions by pushing Inuyasha around roughly. And even on some days, Inuyasha received no dinner or breakfast in retaliation. The younger brother could even smell the slight spike in Sesshoumaru's scent when he was angry with him.

The final straw finally came on a summer day; a few weeks after Inuyasha's twelfth birthday.

Sesshoumaru left home for school and upon his return, he discovered that their house was wrecked inside.

Furniture was toppled and many dishes and glass were shattered about the home. There was even bloody handprints plastered on the pea-green walls.

Knowing a certain someone's temper, Sesshoumaru instantly stomped to his brother's room. Once he walked into the room, he found Inuyasha bent over on the shaded floor, cradling his crimson-stained hands and arms. It was plainly obvious to see that Inuyasha was the culprit of the crime.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sesshoumaru roared, his own temper snapping. "Why the hell did you do this?!" To emphasize his questions, he harshly picked the boy from the floor by the collar of his shirt. He shook his brother while Inuyasha struggled to be let down.

In response, a small tear went down Inuyasha's cheek. He kicked and moved his arms around, trying his best to be put down.

"You damn handicapped bastard!" Sesshoumaru growled in a cold manner, throwing Inuyasha across the room. There was a loud crash as his back hit the wall.

The boy slowly crawled to his knees and gave a small growl-like sound of growing anger. Instead of attacking his brother in return, the boy merely sat there, his body shuddering as if he was crying.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Why the hell did you do this?" he repeated even though he knew that Inuyasha could not hear the question nor reply verbally. "Do I not do enough for you?"

When Inuyasha felt the slight vibrations of his brother approaching him, he curled his body up and let out a small snarl.

Sesshoumaru was too blinded by rage at the time to know the real reason for Inuyasha's sudden vicious behavior. Inuyasha had finally cracked from the guilt and pent up rage he felt. After Sesshoumaru left, he found himself tearing apart whatever he could get his hands on so that he could feel relief. During his rampage, however, he busted open his right hand and tore various cuts along his arms.

"I have had enough of your ungratefulness and disobedience!" the older brother yelled, stomping away from Inuyasha's injured body. He dialed the number to the children services and waited for them to arrive.

After a half-hour of waiting, Kaede's car finally pulled up with a few other people getting out as well. Once the crowd of three went into the house, they were shocked at the damage that was done. They instantly knew that Sesshoumaru called them here to take Inuyasha away.

When Inuyasha smelt the new scents of the people approaching him, he backed away slightly. He instinctively knew that something horrible was going to happen. However, when he felt the hands of the strangers, he hardly struggled since he desired to get away from Sesshoumaru. As far as he was concerned, if Sesshoumaru hated him, he would be hated back.

The twelve-year-old felt himself in the backseat of the car, surrounded by the scents of the passengers. If it wasn't for Kaede being there, he would have panicked.

When a few hours passed, Inuyasha found himself getting led into a foreign location. The smells alarmed him and he felt the various vibrations of feet scuffling across the hard floor.

Once he was registered, the child service workers left him alone with the medical staff that worked there. A few nurses led him to the room that he would remain in for the next five years.

* * *

Chocolate-brown colored eyes glanced over a card that was held in lithe hands. 

"Is this the right place?" the woman murmured to herself when she looked up at the rather large yellow building. It appeared to be more like a prison than a resting home for the handicapped.

The wind ruffled her shoulder-length mocha colored hair and black semi-professional business attire. She double checked the address of the card and heaved a sigh.

Yes, this was the right location.

She walked into the lobby and approached the front desk. "Um…excuse me?" she called out.

A female nurse turned and smiled at her from behind the desk. "Are you here to visit?" she asked in a gentle voice.

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm here on business. Someone here called my office, saying that there is a man who needs my services," she answered.

"Ah! So you're the teacher that we sent out for?" the nurse exclaimed, suddenly remembering.

The other woman gave the nurse a smile. "Yes." Giving a greeting bow, she introduced, "My name is Higurashi Kagome."

The nurse bowed in return. "It's nice to meet you, Higurashi-san. You can call me Kusao Ringo."

"Likewise, Kusao-san," Kagome grinned. Her expression turned more serious. "So, what room is this…" she trailed off, reading off her card. "…Inu-ya-sha…in?"

Ringo's eyes widened slightly. "'Inuyasha'?" she echoed in shock. "They sent you to teach him?" It was obvious that the other staff members did not inform her of this. "Are you serious?"

"I'm pretty sure…unless I can't read Kanji properly…" she trailed off, showing her the card.

Ringo looked as if she was about to fall over once she read the name off and confirmed Kagome's reading skills. "I can't believe this…" she gasped. "Who's the baka who thought _he _could learn?"

The instructor was confused with those words. "What do you mean?" she questioned. "There's no way that a person could not be able to learn _anything _in their lifetime."

"There's an exception for this man." The nurse sighed. "I'll take you to his room, but I wouldn't be surprised if you left after just one hour with the guy."

True to her word, Ringo led Kagome to the seventh floor where the worst behaved people lived on.

The teacher mentally cringed upon hearing many shouts of patients who resisted doctors' attempts to give them their medication or food.

Upon arriving to "Room 1576," both Ringo and Kagome stopped when they heard the yell of a male doctor attempting to check up on Inuyasha's condition.

The man cursed and hastily opened the door, a scowl on his face. "Damn that Inuyasha…I don't know how Dr. Miroku can deal with him and be so calm!"

Ringo heaved another groan. "Hiten-san, what did he do _this _time?"

The man, Hiten, turned around, his long black braid flowing back over his shoulder. "He refused to let me give him a shot! He should know that I need a sample of his blood so we can monitor his health!" he exclaimed.

Kagome cleared her throat, gaining the attention of both people. "Um, so this is Inuyasha's room?" she asked, inwardly hoping that she got the wrong person or even room.

Hiten stopped his ranting when he heard her question. He flashed a small smile and questioned, "And who are you? Are you here on a visit?"

Ringo patted Kagome on her shoulders and answered for her. "No, she is Inuyasha's new teacher, Higurashi Kagome."

"Ah…" Hiten trailed off. "I wish you good luck. You're the tenth one they sent over here."

Kagome gulped. "T-tenth?" she stuttered.

"Yep," Ringo chirped in. "Inuyasha is possibly the most stubborn and violent person in this facility. Rumor has it that he was taken here when he was twelve because he destroyed his house!"

Kagome's eyes widened.

Noticing the girl's increasing panic, Hiten cut in. "Don't listen to Ringo-san. It's merely a rumor."

The teacher nodded. "Uh…s-sure. 'Only a rumor.' Got it," she laughed nervously.

"Well, I have to get back to work, so maybe I'll see you two later," Hiten then said.

"Sure," both women replied, allowing the man to walk off.

"So, let me introduce you to Inuyasha," the nurse smiled, lightly pulling Kagome into the room. "I don't know if the people at your headquarters told you, but this guy's deaf and blind."

"T-they didn't tell me this," Kagome replied. _'Remind me to yell at my boss later…' _she mentally stated.

However, upon catching the glimpse of the man sitting in the chair, the woman stopped in her tracks. His untamed black hair surrounded his skinny and pale body. His was only wearing a white hospital garment with matching white knee-length shorts. In one word, she summarized him as _wild_.

"Higurashi-san?" Ringo questioned, snapping Kagome out of her momentary stupor.

"Huh? Oh!" Kagome reacted, pushing down an embarrassed blush from being caught off guard. It was not like her to do something like that.

"Well, since I have other jobs to get to, I'll let you do yours," the nurse smiled.

The instructor only nodded stupidly, watching the other woman walk out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

After the woman's footsteps were no longer heard, Kagome turned her attention back towards the "wild" man facing the window. "Um, my name is Higurashi Kagome and I'm here to help you learn how to communicate with others," she called out, cautiously pacing towards him.

Upon him giving her no response, she resisted the urge to smack her head against the wall. "Good going, Kagome, you forgot that he can't hear!"

She was immediately silenced when she noticed him turning in her direction. She quickly noticed his unseeing dark violet eyes. "Violet?" she questioned. "That's a color that I've never seen before…" His eyes only attributed to his unnatural appearance. He was almost…_beautiful_ in an odd way.

It seemed that Inuyasha had caught her scent and felt her feet vibrating against the floor. He only waited until Ringo left before he gave her his full attention.

Inuyasha knew that she was a woman based on her feminine scent. However, to him…she smelt _odd_. Almost like peace or a feeling of calm. Since he did not know the names of anything, he could not compare her scent to anything. Though, to anyone else, the smell could have been compared to flowers.

Stopping in front of him, she lightly touched his arm with her hand.

He momentarily flinched, but eventually stilled himself. His body remained stiff, not used to people touching him unless it was to give him food, harm him, or attempt to teach him sign language lessons that he refused to cooperate with.

She was fast to notice that he was tense. "I wonder if you know any letters…?" she trailed off, lightly touching his hand, silently asking for him to reveal his palm to her.

Inuyasha understood this quiet request and did as she wanted.

"**Inu-ya-sha**," she spelled out in katakana on his palm.

He remained motionless, causing her to heave a sigh. "I guess they were right. You don't really know anything…"

"Okay…let's try something else," she suggested. Grabbing a vase, she placed it in his hand and quickly took it out. "This is a vase," she spoke out loud while signing, "**vase**" in his palm.

He let out a small exhale of breath, signifying frustration. He figured out what she was doing. She was just another one of those people that were sent up to his room to teach him useless lessons.

After she signed another word into his hand, he lightly jerked his hand away, catching her by surprise. "Is he upset?" she asked herself, noticing the slight scowl appearing on his face.

His frown deepened as his anger began to take over his frustration. He thought that there would finally be somebody that would just sit beside him and merely keep him company. That is what he hoped that one of his teachers would do for him. Instead, like all of the others, she was just another person that desired him to fit into a society that did not even accept him.

When Kagome touched his arm to get him to calm down, he reacted by roughly pushing her away and letting out a small growl.

The woman's eyes widened and she took a step back from him. "Inuyasha…did I do something to offend you?" she asked out loud despite knowing that he could not hear her.

Her backing away out of fear and surprise confirmed his suspicions that she was just there to teach him. She only sympathized with him. She was only there to do her job. This woman did not stand her own ground because she was afraid of him. He assumed that Kagome was like all of the others. Her calming scent no longer fooled him. His whole body tensed up and he slowly rose out of his chair, still facing her. He figured that if he could get her out of his room, she would never come back and the place would finally give up on sending up teachers to him.

"Is he planning to attack me?" she demanded, backing up against a wall. "Yep, I'm _really_ gonna yell at my boss!" she concluded.

Inuyasha picked up the first thing he could get his hands on: the vase she put in his palm earlier. He then proceeded to throw the vase in the direction of her scent.

Kagome moved out of the way before the pottery crashed against the way, shattering into shards. "Ack!" she shouted, running to the other side of the room.

After a few minutes of dodging the flinging of objects, Kagome finally got fed up. She was not hired to be used for target practice! "That's it!" she declared, rushing up to him. She gripped onto his hospital garment tightly.

"I don't know who you think you are, but blind and deaf or not, you will NOT disrespect me!" she shouted, glaring at him. She stomped her foot on the ground for emphasis.

Even though he did not hear her verbally, Inuyasha felt the floor vibrate and felt her grip his clothing. He knew that she was upset. A sudden flashback of Sesshoumaru lifting him up into the air made him immediately retract and sit back down into his chair.

Kagome raised her eyebrow, becoming very confused and alarmed. "What the—?" she said out loud. She felt her temper abate upon seeing him looked shocked and actually _scared._ For some reason, she knew it was not because of her.

Upon seeing his expression of slight fear, she immediately began to feel guilty. "Oh, great…I freaked him out…" she groaned. She walked up to the teen and lightly touched him in an apologetic manner.

He was still tense. However, after figuring out that she would restrain herself more in the future made him relax in the slightest way.

She slightly smiled. It was relief that he would not throw furniture at her in the impending days. "I wonder how many people you actually frightened off with that sudden attack?" she wondered out loud. She figured that his previous instructors were turned away by a similar assault, but also knew that they weren't the only victims of his rage.

Within him, Inuyasha presumed that she was not like the others that were before her. Unlike the others, not only did she not run away, but she stood her own ground! This showed him that she was not about to give up easily. He debated between trying harder to push her away or finally succumbing to her teachings.

Within the next hour, Kagome attempted to instruct him of the basic katakana by finger-spelling on his palm. She spent the whole time resting on her knees so she could be at the same height as him in his sitting posture. When she tapped on his arm to get him to imitate her movements, he gave no reaction. He merely sat there and watched her with his sightless eyes.

"I'm guessing that you still don't understand the concepts," she spoke in another sigh. "Though…I can't completely blame you. I'm sure your condition gives you many burdens and adding on the fact that no one ever taught you anything doesn't help either." She rose up from her sitting position and idly moved one of her wandering strands of hair from her face. "I guess that's it for today…" she said.

Patting him on his shoulder, she walked to the door and opened it, unleashing a torrent of the familiar but still foreign smells to Inuyasha's nose.

Feeling her shoes pounding against the floor, he knew that she was leaving. He faced the direction of the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Inuyasha," Kagome murmured, gliding out of the door and shutting it behind her.

Sensing the vibrations of the door slam shut, he faced the window once again. Despite not learning anything while she was there, he liked her presence and her calming scent. He wondered when she would return if at all.

When Kagome found her way to the front entrance of the building, Ringo approached her.

"So, you're leaving?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," Kagome replied.

"Wow," Ringo gasped. "You were in there longer than anyone I've ever known! Just over two hours!" She leaned in closer and whispered, "How could you stand him?"

The teacher smiled. "I have enough patience to put up with him," she simply said. "And I will be back tomorrow."

"This is a miracle!" Ringo exclaimed. "Finally, a person who doesn't put up with his resistance!"

Kagome nodded her head, choosing not to tell the woman about Inuyasha's furniture throwing and her reaction. She just hoped that he would not do it again. "Well, I will be going now."

The nurse grinned. "Okay, see you around."

"Arigatou, Ringo-san," Kagome acknowledged, using the woman's first name for the first time.

"It's no problem, Kagome-san," Ringo said returning the gesture.

With that, Kagome left the building and headed to the nearest Shinkansen station. While her first encounter with Inuyasha was not the best of things, she was looking forward to return. She had the feeling that he would be her greatest student.

* * *

A/N: Just so everyone knows…this is like my fastest update ever! 

Anyways, I hope everyone liked this new chapter since more characters are being introduced. And, yes, as mentioned by Hiten, Miroku IS a doctor!

The Shinkansen is the bullet train in Japan that most people use as a mode of travel, by the way.

Please review!

Ja ne!


	3. Frustration and Damnation

****

Disclaimer:

Turtlequeen2: Wow! So many reviews! This is more support than I expected! Thanks so much, everyone!

Inuyasha: Keh! It's at my expense!

Turtlequeen2: Oh, shush.

Inuyasha: Well, it's true! They all like the fact that I'm being tortured by you!

Turtlequeen2: No, they like good, original plots. And that's what I'm providing. You just happen to be the centerpiece of it…

Inuyasha: Keh! Whatever. -rolls eyes-

Turtlequeen2: -sighs- I would like to thank the following reviewers: ForgottenKaze, Shounen-Ai, SugarRos, AnimeMiko15, Kouga's Archi, 4gVn sOuL, junyortrakr, Kagura910, Shoushin, kara422, Spitfire21, and sarah!

I don't own Inuyasha—only Rumiko Takahashi does!

I give thanks to my editor: Inu Youkai Wanna Be!

NOTE: Many features of various youkai you know from the canon Inuyasha may be altered to make their "human" features believable.

And I should have said this earlier. Anything in **BOLD** means that it is in sign language unless stated otherwise.

**

* * *

Chapter 2 **

Frustration and Damnation

As promised, Kagome arrived at the desk of the front of the handicapped medical home by mid-afternoon.

This time she was not greeted by Ringo. She was greeted by none other than Dr. Hiten.

Upon seeing her, he gave her one of his flashy smiles that made many of the nurses swoon over him. "Oh, Higurashi-san! You've returned?" he remarked, his gray eyes sparking. "I'm surprised!"

"I'm pleased to see you as well, Dr. Hiten," Kagome greeted with one of her smiles. "I'm guessing that Ringo-san didn't tell you that I was going to return."

"No…" Hiten trailed off. "So, you're going to instruct Inuyasha further?"

"Yes. Well…at least attempt to…" Kagome replied. "So may I go up?" she then asked.

"Well, um, he's getting his usual check-up at the moment. However, I can walk you up so that I can ask if you are allowed inside," he suggested.

"That would be great. Arigatou," she smiled.

The doctor led the girl to the elevator to which they took up to the seventh floor.

Kagome still wasn't used to the shouting she heard from the various patients when she followed Hiten down the hallway.

When they both reached Inuyasha's room, Hiten unlocked the door and allowed them both inside.

"Dr. Miroku? Are you nearly done?" Hiten questioned, watching the other man take a blood sample from Inuyasha's arm.

Said doctor looked up from his task after taking the needle out of his current patient's arm. "Hai! I'm finished now, Hiten-san!" he called back cheerfully. He then rose from the chair he was seated in and patted Inuyasha on his shoulder, telling him that he was done for the day.

Inuyasha immediately identified and located the two new scents that had arrived in his room. One of them was the bastard, Hiten, and the other one was…that mysterious teacher with the calming smell. Turning his face in their direction, he stared directly at Kagome with his sightless eyes.

Kagome glanced back in his direction only to see him focusing intently on her. For some reason she couldn't explain, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Um…Higurashi-san?" Hiten called out, getting her attention after saying her name for the third time.

"Huh?" Kagome replied. "Oh! Uh…sorry, I spaced out for a few seconds there!" she laughed nervously, turning to face the two men.

Miroku smiled and placed the syringe and the other materials he used down onto a tray that rested on a nearby table. Taking off his yellow gloves, he gave her a bow and introduced," You can call me Miroku. Anyone who Inuyasha can stand is a person I respect greatly." Raising his head, he gave her a grin.

Kagome timidly returned the bow, saying," Uh, thanks...My name is Higurashi Kagome and I'm Inuyasha's new sign-language teacher."

"So I've heard," Miroku replied, his dark fuschia-colored eyes glowing with cheerfulness. He subconsciously ran his hand through his short, black hair. What Kagome noticed was the most intriguing feature of his hair was the small rat tail that he had.

Looking at the woman's physical features caused Miroku to comment," My, you are beautiful, Kagome-sama…"

"Eh? Arigatou…" she blushed. "There's no need to call me 'lady' though…"

"As I've said: I highly respect the few that Inuyasha can get along with," the doctor smiled. "You look very young. If it's not too rude of me, may I ask for your age?"

"Um…seventeen," she answered. "I know I'm young for one in my field, but there's not enough of us teachers around and they needed interns and such…" she added quickly.

"So you're an intern?" Hiten questioned, jumping into the conversation.

"No, I'm a licensed teacher," she explained.

"How…?" Miroku asked.

"I was one of the few exceptions that was allowed to take the exam early because of my fast ability to learn sign-language. And I was also recommended by my friend, Sango-chan," she explained. "I just recently graduated high school and I'm planning to go to college soon…"

"Interesting…so this 'Sango' is just a regular licensed instructor?" the kind doctor pondered.

"Yes. She got her teaching license a few years before me."

"Ah, thank you for clearing that up for me," he responded. "Now if you would excuse the two of us…" he continued, grabbing both the sleeve of Hiten and his tray," …we'll leave you to your teaching."

"Sure," she replied. "I guess I'll see you around, eh, Miroku-_sama_?" she joked, using the same honorific at the end of his name.

"Of course, Kagome-sama," he laughed, shutting the door behind him, leaving her and Inuyasha alone.

Turning her full attention on her student, she bend down onto her knees in front of where he sat. "I'm back," she murmured, touching him on his arm lightly to tell him the same thing in silence.

He faced her once more, his eyebrows raising slightly to show to her that he knew.

"All right…" she trailed off. "I guess we should begin…" She reached into the coat pocket of her business suit and pulled out an unused handkerchief. Kagome then placed it into his open palm and closed his fingers around the cloth for him. It was a signal that meant that he was allowed to keep it. "When you begin to sign, that will be one of the first few words I'll teach you…"she smiled.

The cloth was red and white, an engraving of her name on the side written in hiragana. For some reason, she felt that she had to give it to him.

She wanted his trust.

As for Inuyasha, he was in shock. He knew very well of the gesture she had just performed. She wanted him to keep the cloth. No one had ever given him gifts ever since his parent's deaths. And now, this girl, whom he barely knew, was giving him something that he knew was dear to her. His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Kagome noticed his shocked expression and grinned. "I'm glad that you appreciate it," she commented out loud. She took the cloth from out of his hand and placed it in his lap. "Now, onto the actual lesson…" she began.

His lips twitched into a small frown when she took the handkerchief out of his hand. He knew that the actual "torture" would begin now. This was the part he was least looking forward to.

She heaved a sigh, noticing his expression. She pulled out a small book from the brown handbag she carried around with her. Placing it in his right palm, she signed out the object's name in his other hand.

Seeing his lack of response, she sighed again. "Couldn't you at least imitate me?" she pondered out loud. She grabbed his free hand and led his index finger into her more petite palm.

Catching onto her silent request, he tried to concentrate his efforts and copy her actions. The key word was "try." After the first two katakana he imitated into her hand, he let out a huff of frustration. He couldn't remember the rest. Not being able to see her fingers made it harder for him to remember by just touch.

She knew that his frown was increasing and she took the book out of his hand. "Okay…so that was little hard." She took out her house keys and placed them into his palm. "How about these?"

Signing the word," **key**," into his palm, she waited for his response. Performing the same actions that got him to repeat her actions, she watched his attempts.

Inuyasha could not even get those easier signs and his frustration reached the point of rage. Clenching his fist around the keys, he threw the objects against the wall, making Kagome jump a few inches into the air.

The teacher groaned. "Not this again…" She resisted the urge to glare at the man despite knowing that he would not even be able to see her expression. "There's no reason for you to throw things when you don't understand something!" She walked over to where her keys were and retrieved them. _'Oh well…at least he didn't throw them _at_ me…' _she thought to herself.

She paced over towards him and said," Let's try this again…" She stared up at him and lightly gripped his arm and released it as a gesture to show that she did not like what he had done.

He turned his head away from her and crossed his arms out of stubbornness. He did not want to try again because he did not believe that he could learn anything. He knew that that was what everyone thought of him. They thought him to be ignorant. To even himself, he thought himself to be stupid.

"Oh! You!" she said in a huff of aggravation. "Don't you dare cross your arms at me!"

He let out a growl of irritation.

She stomped her shoe onto the ground, sending vibrations under his feet. "You'll never learn anything if you don't put any effort into it!" she exclaimed.

He growled again.

"Ugh!" she answered back, narrowing her eyes in his direction.

* * *

After an hour and a half and more arguing, Kagome decided to give up for the day. 

Grabbing her bag and composing herself, she stomped to the door and opened it. She slammed it shut behind her, sending the familiar vibrations in Inuyasha's path.

When her scent was faint in his room, he turned towards the window again. The red and orange from the sunset reflected on his face, making his violet eyes twinkle in the colors of a half-rainbow.

Amazingly, the handkerchief was still in his lap despite all of the movements he did. He felt around until he found it. Picking up the cloth, he gripped it in his hands.

Despite the girl being stubborn—possibly about as stubborn as himself—she still was the first person in many years that gave him a gift. Even if it was as small.

He smelled it. The cloth smelled like Kagome. To him, it was like she gave him part of herself. For someone who did not even know him, giving him something like that, was a big deal to him.

Inuyasha placed the gift in his shorts pocket.

If he did not make her too mad, she would return. He decided that he would give her more of his effort. It was the least he could do.

* * *

Icy-violet eyes stared out of the office window of a prominent company building. The man's neatly styled, long black hair stayed mainly behind him as he sat in his maroon leather chair. His dark bangs hid his annoyed expression. 

"S-Sesshoumaru-sama?" called out the voice of his most-trusted butler. The rather short, wrinkled man bowed his head towards the back of the large chair that sat behind an oak desk.

"What is it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru answered back in a cold manner. His tone also had an underlining of displeasure.

His "minion" cowered as his master turned his chair around to face him. "Um…y-you have a visitor…"

"Tell them that I am unavailable and will get back to them on a later date," Sesshoumaru replied simply. He was in no mood to deal with impertinent customers.

"B-but _she_ insists on seeing you, sir," Jaken continued. "She doesn't plan on taking 'no' for an answer…"

"Oh?" he questioned, his eyebrow arched. "And who is this woman that you speak of?" Now, he sounded intrigued.

"Morikawa Kagura."

"'Morikawa'?" Sesshoumaru echoed. "As in relation to Naraku?"

"Hai," Jaken replied. "She's here to deliver a message to you from her father."

"Oh? And I suppose that is because he is too lazy to do it himself?" Sesshoumaru smirked.

"I am in no position to say," his servant supplied. "Shall I retrieve her?"

"No," the man repeated. "Tell her that I desire no messengers. If Naraku wishes to tell me something, he will have to tell me to my face."

Jaken's face paled slightly. "V-very well, sir…" he trailed off, walking out of the large wooden door that led into the hallways.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the papers on his desk and resisted the urge to sigh. It was the same thing everyday: sign papers, listen to unsatisfied customers, turn out orders, and sign more papers. Barely anything interesting happened in his life ever since he had graduated from Kyoto University.

He was prepared to raise his pen to sign more of the documents when he paused. He heard footsteps. No…not quite…

Stomping.

Stomping and cursing.

The door to his office slammed open and in stepped a woman who was dressed in her own set of professional attire. Well, more like a nice red blouse and a black business skirt.

"I KNEW that you were in here, bastard!" the woman yelled, charging up to his desk and glaring at him.

"Ah, Kagura-san, I presume?" Sesshoumaru asked in a calm manner. He looked up at the woman, showing no emotion on his face. Well, perhaps, an expression of boredom, if anything.

"Don't try to act all smug with me!" she raged. "I waited three damn hours down there to talk to you! My father is a prestigious customer of yours so you should learn to treat us with respect!"

"I do not believe that is possible, my dear Kagura," he smirked. "What you ask is that I treat you like you are above my other customers and that is not my fashion. I refuse to go out of my way to earn your father's business."

"Then you'll lose our business!" she declared.

"So be it," he replied calmly. "I have many other loyal customers. Naraku is not the only one who desires the products I sell."

Her hazel eyes narrowed. "You really are a bastard," she growled.

"Is that the only message your father wished for you to deliver?" he questioned. "If it was then I see no reason why he would send you in his place."

"Oh, yes, smartass…" she trailed off in sarcasm. "I waited down there for three hours and walked over here in the rain just so I could call you a bastard to your face!"

"Interesting," he smirked. "I never knew one who would go out of their way just to call me one insult." Noticing her deepening scowl, he continued," Give my compliments to Naraku since you are so good at delivering messages."

The woman resisted the urge to smack the man. Her eye gave multiple twitches. "You know, my only job isn't just to tell other people to fuck off!" she fumed. "And it isn't just to deliver messages either!"

"So then what is your real job?" Sesshoumaru asked. He was growing more interested in this woman's anger. This was the most entertainment he had in a while.

"Why should I waste my time telling you about my personal life?" she demanded.

"Because you have already wasted your time calling me insults," he pointed out.

"Argh!" she raged, unable to come up with anymore counters.

"So…please deliver the message so that you may be able to leave my sight," he suggested.

Her pinned up black hair and green earrings swiveled as she turned away from him, nearly infuriated to the point of no return. She took in a deep breath in order to calm herself. Turning back around, she placed on a small smile. "Sesshoumaru-sama…" she said in a tone close to a purr.

His eyebrow raised. He did not like the tone of her voice. Women who went from angered to "nice" was never good for him.

She leaned in close to him and grinned. "My father has one request for the order he put in…"she trailed off. "He wants the all of the cars to be in an array of blue and black—not just in red. And he says that if his request is not fulfilled by tomorrow, he will cancel his order."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as she distanced herself from him. His lips twitched into a small frown. He was not pleased.

Kagura laughed inside of her mind. She had won. Deciding to rub in her success, she walked towards the door and called back," Have a _nice_ day!"

Once the door slammed shut, he let out a growl that sounded similar to that of a dog. "That bastard, Naraku, expects me to get people to easily repaint two hundred cars in custom colored paint in one day?!"

No other customer pissed him off more than Naraku did. Sure, he was the company's best customer and one that even his father had, but the guy made the company do ridiculous tasks. Sometimes the jobs were not even worth the money!

However, this was the worst that Naraku had asked of him. Sesshoumaru hadn't been this upset since the time when he saw his brother last…

* * *

He had been eighteen when he saw his brother, Inuyasha, being put in the car that took him to his current handicapped home. 

Ever since then, Sesshoumaru had only grown more cold and isolated from others. It was as if his soul was covered in ice.

Ever since then, his hate for Inuyasha grew. He still believed that his brother was to blame for the death of their parents.

Though Sesshoumaru was more mature and older since those five years ago, he was still sensitive to that incident that occured those many years ago. He was now twenty-three years old and a high ranking salesman of the Toyota Company; a feat that his father accomplished.

After he was able to live in the family house alone, he was able to complete high school and graduate with honors fairly easily. He was then excepted into the prestigious Kyoto University and graduated with a major in business when he was twenty-two.

It was highly unusual for a man of his young age to move up the business ladder so quickly, but because he was known for his intelligence and his father was previously a high office official during his lifetime, Sesshoumaru had little trouble progressing in positions. It took him merely one year to reach the status that he was currently in.

Still, whenever he had spare time to himself—which was little time—he thought back to that day. The day when he sent his brother away and refused to see him anymore. Was he right in doing so? If it was so wrong then why did he not feel guilt?

Or was his guilt manifesting in a different way, such as in a lack of feeling…?

The question Sesshoumaru really wanted to know was whether or not he ever be able to escape the darkness of his own mind. Was he _damned_ to relive that scene in his nightmares for all eternity? Why did the brother—the brother who did nothing wrong—have to suffer?

* * *

A/N: So…what did you all think? I hope that you weren't disappointed! 

I know that many features, such as Kagura and Hitens' red eyes, are changed. That is just because I want to make their features believable as humans.

And yes, Sesshoumaru's business scenario as well as how Kagome became a teacher at such a young age are both unrealistic in the real world. I am aware of that. It's just that I had to explain it in some way so that people wouldn't ask me later of how they rose to their current positions. These positions are also important for them to keep. If Kagome couldn't teach, then how could she meet Inuyasha?

Also, I honestly don't know how the Tokyo Company actually works…so, uh, if anyone knows, feel free to tell me!

Well, enough of my excuses…I'm off to write the next chapter!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	4. Bonsai Trees and Weird Meetings

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: Again, wow! So many reviews and hits! Thanks for much!

Inu Youkai Wanna Be: Hi! Beta here! I'm just here to witness the legendary meeting of fan-fiction Inuyasha to his real counterpart.

Story!Inuyasha: -silence-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What the hell? -points at his human-looking twin- T-that's what you have me looking like in your story? He looks so weak!

Turtlequeen2: Well, he's not a hanyou like you! I'd like to see you act so tough if you were in his situation!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -crosses arms- Keh!

Story!Inuyasha: -growls, not liking Disclaimer!Inuyasha having the same type of scent as him-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What the hell's your problem?!

Inu Youkai Wanna Be: -snickers- It's so cute! Two Inuyashas!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -glares at Inu Youkai Wanna Be-

Inu Youkai Wanna Be: -laughs even harder-

Turtlequeen2: -sighs- …Well, onto some better business. I'd like to thank the following reviewers: SugarRos, AnimeMiko15, black flame kit, Yang Fuyu, Shoushin, junyortrakr, ForgottenKaze, Shounen-Ai, 4gVn sOuL, bbbele, Kojime, Kagura910, kara422, Spitfire21, A.J., k.m., and anika!

I don't own Inuyasha—only Rumiko Takahashi-sensei does!

Special thanks to junyortrakr for giving me some of the backdrop on Japanese business. Also, thanks so much to my editors: Inu Youkai Wanna Be and Kagura615!

Once more: **ALL DEMONS **(except for Kirara) **ARE HUMANS IN THIS AU!**

**

* * *

Chapter 3 **

**Bonsai Trees and Weird Meetings**

Sesshoumaru was still inwardly stewing from the previous day.

Of course, the employees were not happy learning that they were all assigned to double shifts.

Of course, the higher-ups were not happy upon discovering the new order that Naraku had put in for their company.

That was why today he decided to take the day off. He had dealt with enough complaining to last a good while.

Today, he decided to take a trip to Kyoto. After he placed his turned-off cell phone into his pants pocket, he let out a small, almost unheard sigh of relief. The phone would only bring him more frustration than he needed at the moment.

He got onto the Shinkansen, not wanting to put up with his usual chauffeurs. After a half-hour, he got off at the station and caught a taxi to an isolated park.

Or at least he thought that it was isolated…

After taking a while to walk through the dense forestry and looking around at the quiet surroundings, he heard soft sobbing. He grew curious and began to follow the sound of the crying. Usually, he would ignore the weeping of another since he grew indifferent to it, but for some odd reason, this particular person drew him in much like his brother did those many years ago…

_'Inuyasha…'_ Sesshoumaru mentally murmured. He hardly thought about his brother besides the times he thought about the nightmares he had involving the seventeen-year-old. The man continued to push closer to the sounds of sadness.

He finally came upon a white stone bridge in the midst of the many mossy trees. The resonance of the stream beneath the bridge made the sobs muffled, but it wasn't enough to cover up the noise completely.

There was a woman staring into the water, crouched over on the stone ground of the viaduct, her lithe arms surrounding her shuddering frame.

When she noticed a shadow covering the warm sunlight, she knew that she was no longer alone. She was going to turn around and yell for the person to leave her alone, but upon seeing him, she froze.

Sesshoumaru was also in shock, his eyes widening slightly.

The familiar black hair and upturned lips of anger…those eyes that were slightly red from crying…

"Kagura…?" he murmured out loud.

"_You,_" she bit out in a tone of bitterness. She quickly rubbed her eyes, ashamed at herself for allowing _anyone,_ especially _him_ to see her acting weak.

"Wiping away your tears does not hide the fact that you were crying a few minutes before," he stated, looking down at her in his frigid fashion.

"I think I'd know," she growled, rising to her feet. However, since she rose in a careless manner, she tripped on the stone, causing her to fall forward.

Before she had a chance to completely make more of a fool out of herself, Sesshoumaru quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her fall with his arms.

"Perhaps you should be more careful where you step," he pointed out bluntly.

Pulling out of his grasp rather quickly, she glared up at him. "Thanks for the advice," she replied in sarcasm. Straitening herself up, she added," I don't thank you for bothering me."

"'Bothering you'?" he echoed with a raised eyebrow. "You merely happened to notice my presence. In fact, if it were not for me, you would possibly be bleeding from that fall you nearly took."

Kagura kept her glower and narrowed her eyes. She glanced away from his face. "…T-thank you for catching me…" she murmured, hating to express gratitude towards him much like an enemy would hate to admit defeat to the victor.

He gave a small nod, showing her that he appreciated her gratefulness. "Might I know what was upsetting you earlier?" he pondered, finally voicing his thoughts.

"First, answer my question," she said in response. "Why are you out here? You're usually in your little office pissing people off, are you not?"

Sesshoumaru chose to ignore her sarcastic remark. "If you would truly like to know, it has to do with your father," he began.

Kagura's glare intensified at the mention of Naraku. "Ah, that whole thing yesterday?"

"Yes," he answered. "Trust me—the company was _not_ happy." His eyes narrowed at the memory of many of the angry people he had to deal with the previous day.

The slightest of smirks appeared on her face at his annoyed tone. "I wouldn't imagine so," she agreed.

By this time, the two began to walk together on the trail.

"So are you willing to answer the question I asked you?" Sesshoumaru pondered.

"It has to do with my father," she sighed. She mentally debated with herself and paused for a moment, enabling silence to surround them as they continued down the path.

"And?" he pushed, looking at her as he paced.

"…Well, it was that he doesn't trust me as much," she explained. "He always tells Kanna, my older sister, to do these really important tasks while I'm stuck delivering his messages…" She heaved another sigh. "I totally understand you when you say that you get yelled at a lot…I deal with the same bastards daily—my father being one of them."

He stopped walking on the trail and narrowed his eyes at her. "You're lying to me," he stated in a near growl.

Kagura's smirk turned into a frown. "And how would you know?" she demanded, stopping alongside him.

"You hesitated in answering. Perhaps what you have said is part of the truth, but it is not the whole truth. You do not seem like the attention-getter type of person even if you give off the façade of one," Sesshoumaru explained.

"True, but you don't know me enough either," she pointed out, beginning to walk again.

Catching up to her, he replied," It is accurate that I do not know you well enough to make judgments, but I know a liar when I see one."

"You really are a bastard," she remarked.

"So I've been told," he smirked, clearly amused.

After a while, the two reached the other side of the trail in silence.

"Um…thanks for uh, keeping me company, I guess…" Kagura said with awkwardness.

He gave her another nod.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to say 'you're welcome' once in a while," she reacted.

"Perhaps I would say it if one were not lying to me," he smugly retorted.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah? So you _do_ have a polite bone in your body, after all?" she said in a tone of sarcasm.

"It is merely manners. It has nothing to do with kindness," he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh huh, right," she snorted.

"So, why were you all by yourself in the middle of the park?" he questioned.

"You trust me to answer honestly?" she smirked.

"For this, I would hope so," he responded.

"Like you, I wanted to just away from where I was," she sighed.

"Why?" he asked.

"It's mainly because of my _father_," she answered, spitting out the word "father" like it was poison. "I got tired of his shit and decided to get away for a bit. He's always talking about his job or how unreliable I am. It gets annoying after a while."

"I take it that you dislike him?" Sesshoumaru observed.

"Very much," Kagura replied. "I love him for being my father, but as for himself? No. I loathe his personality and his attitude about everything."

He gave another nod of his head. "You are a good actress," he smirked. "The first time I saw you, I thought you to be 'daddy's little girl.'"

She glared at him. "Yeah right!" she snorted.

"So are you prepared to tell me your whole reason of why you were crying?" the business man then questioned.

Her eyes narrowed even more, not liking the fact that he chose to bring it up again. "I choose not to tell someone I barely even know. Besides that, how do I know that you wouldn't tell him anyways?" she demanded.

"I assure you that, I, Sesshoumaru, would not tell others of a matter that is your own personal business," he promised. "And if you choose not to tell me at this time, I would just have to schedule another meeting with you so that you will speak of it with me then. By that time, you cannot use that 'you do not know me well enough' as an excuse."

"That's what you think," she muttered, a small smile still gracing her face.

"And also, I have no desire to become friends with Naraku. He is nothing more than my customer," Sesshoumaru added, emphasizing on his words as if he wanted more than anything in the world for her to know that he disliked the man.

"Hmm…then I may just have to rethink not being able to trust you…" she trailed off in a thoughtful glance.

"Yes, you may," he echoed, turning away from her. "If you may excuse me, I will have to return to Tokyo so I will be able to arrive at my work on time tomorrow."

"I'll have to go soon, too," Kagura sighed. "I guess I'll see you around, _Sesshoumaru_?"

Sesshoumaru stopped in his steps when he heard her call out his name. He was surprised. It was the first time she referred to him as something other than "bastard" or "you." He looked back from the corner of his eye and saw her turn in the other direction. He decided to keep walking forward. It was not as if this would not be the last time he would see her.

* * *

Kagome stood outside of Inuyasha's room with a wrapped bundle in her hands. Her eyes glowed with impatience when she heard the various sounds coming from his room. 

As usual, it was a doctor having a difficult time taking care of Inuyasha.

Behind the teacher sounded a sigh. "He's being so difficult…"

"I'll say," Kagome murmured. She turned around to face the nurse and smiled. "Ringo-chan," she began, using the nurse's name with a more familiar honorific at the end. "Could you let me into the room now? I think that Inuyasha may like me being in there with him. He seems more calm when I'm around."

"You think so?" Ringo asked. "I never got to witness it for myself…"

"Well, for the first day, he was rude and impulsive like all of you had said. However, when I went into the room yesterday with Hiten-san, I noticed that he was silent and only faced me," Kagome explained.

"Really? That's a first for even him!" the woman exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock.

"I guess so," Kagome smiled, strangely glad that she was the first person that he felt comfortable around in a long while.

"Okay, I'll open the door. By the sounds of it, the man is nearly done," the nurse murmured, pulling out a key and putting it into the lock.

Once the door opened, both women were presented with the sight of a grumbling doctor and a disgruntled young man.

However, when Inuyasha finally caught Kagome's scent, he instantly stilled his movements and faced in her direction.

Ringo's eyes widened. "Y-you're right!" she exclaimed, noticing Inuyasha's quick change of moods.

One minute he was growling like a child and the next, he was silent and at attention. It was as if Kagome was his alternate downer medication.

The teacher bit her lip to keep from laughing in amusement. Once she regained her composure, she turned and flashed Ringo a grin. "You may leave us now. I have much to teach him," Kagome announced in a formal fashion.

The nurse nodded and backed out of the room. "Just call for me if you need any assistance," she offered.

Kagome nodded and waited until Ringo closed the door and sounded the lock before facing Inuyasha again. "I'm sure you know that I'm back," she smiled, setting the wrapped bundle on the windowsill.

Inuyasha's face turned to follow her body. He caught the scent of a familiar odor as she unraveled the package. The smell reminded him of his childhood and his countenance scrunched up in confusion as he tried to remember where and when he last smelled the earthly aroma.

The bundle was a modest bonsai tree planted in a miniature rock garden. The foundation was kept in tact within a small black flowering pot. The bonsai tree bore many small branches and chlorophyll-fresh green reflected off of the tiny leaves.

Taking a pinch of dirt, Kagome placed the amount into his open palm and closed his fingers around the particles.

He lifted his face up to her with an expression of utter confusion written on his face.

"Just trust me on this," she said aloud despite his lack of hearing. Using his other hand, she finger-signed the hiragana of "**soil**" into the palm.

Inuyasha's expression did not change. In fact, he grew more puzzled.

She led his free index finger to her open hand and watched his attempt at signing.

It was a bad attempt.

"Try again," Inuyasha's teacher said, tapping him on the shoulder as a non-verbal signal.

He tried again.

The second hiragana symbol did him in this time.

"Okay…how about a different approach?" Kagome murmured to herself, placing the small potted tree onto his lap. She guided his hands to latch around the container as a sign to show that he was allowed to keep the gift.

Inuyasha gave her an incredulous expression. She was giving him yet another thing? How was this plant supposed to help him? He mentally thought her to have lost her mind.

"I know that it's a little ridiculous, but maybe it will help," she agreed, leading one of his hands to touch the small leaves and branches of the bonsai tree.

Since the tree was put securely in his lap, he was able to have both hands free.

Kagome signed into his left hand," **tree**" and then the word," **leaf**" followed afterwards.

When Inuyasha was silently told to return the gestures, he attempted to and failed yet again.

After a few more times, his hands reached for the pot and he tightened his grip. He was getting frustrated.

"Inuyasha! Please not again!" Kagome pleaded, placing a calming hand on his arm. It was supposed to calm him, but instead it had the opposite affect.

The student became enraged. He was tired of the "stupid" lessons that taught him nothing and he was angry at the fact that she got him to continue repeating his lack of letters over and over again. He knew that he was doing them wrong and that he appeared to be an idiot in front of her. He wondered if she secretly enjoyed making him look like a moron.

Inuyasha narrowed his sightless eyes and squeezed the pot even more so. He then quickly picked up the object and threw it harshly onto the ground, making it shatter into many pieces. On the floor, shards of the pot lay amongst grains of earth, the pieces of rocks, and the still-standing tree. The sight appeared to be a cross between a twisted form of art and a miniature wasteland on tiled floor.

Kagome heaved a heavy groan. It was yet another mess to clean up. "Inuyasha…what am I gonna do with you?" she demanded more to herself than to him. Her frustration reached its climax and she was resisting the urge to walk out of the room and never return.

"No!" she mouthed out loud suddenly. "That will make me like the rest of the people around him! I will not be like them! He needs someone who _won't_ give up on him!" She was already kneeling on her knees in front of him. She pounded her fist into the twisted art below her, not taking into consideration the sharp slivers of pot sticking out of the crumbles of earth.

Some of the particles of dirt flew into Inuyasha's lap and some even made their way onto his cheek. Not only did that happen, but she also managed to land her fist on a shard of the pot making her hiss in pain and draw her hand to her chest.

"Dammit…" she murmured to herself as she inspected the cut. The bonsai tree container managed to slice open a cut from the tip of her pinky finger to the beginning of her wrist. Blood began to drip out of the wound, dripping onto the soil like crimson rain.

Inuyasha lightly felt the soil touch his lap and face. However, the instant that Kagome cut herself, the smell of blood overwhelmed his senses. His violet eyes widened. He knew that he was the cause of her pain somehow.

Kagome stared at the young man and sighed, reaching up with her good hand, patting his arm, and verbally replying," Don't worry. I'll be fine."

He used his right hand to grip hers as it touched his left arm. He used his other hand to gather dirt that managed to find its place on his lap and placed it into her open palm.

Kagome's eyes were wide with wonderment. "W-what are you going to do?" she pondered out loud.

Of course, he gave her no verbal response. Instead, he proved that actions said much more than words.

"**Tsu**"

"**Chi**"

Inuyasha slowly, but correctly finger-spelled the word," **soil**" onto her palm!

After the few hiragana symbols were spelled out, the woman's eyes widened and she momentarily forgot about her injury.

"I can't believe it!" she yelled. "You did it!" Before she could stop herself, Kagome leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. She was careful to avoid touching him with her bloodied wound.

Inuyasha's sightless eyes broadened a wide margin. She was _hugging_ _him_! _Him_ of all people! Why was she embracing him? What did he do to deserve such kindness? He had been shut out from all forms of compassion (with the exception of Dr. Miroku) for six years so the hug felt unfamiliar to his senses.

Once more, this woman managed to shock him. Within the course of a mere three days, Kagome proved to be courageous, gave him two gifts (to which he broke the second one), and now embraced him as if he was the best friend she never had before. His body felt numb like one would feel if they were to stand out in the frigid snow for hours.

However, the rather strange but pleasant moment was broken after a few minutes with Inuyasha's teacher backing away from him, a light crimson color dusting her cheeks out of embarrassment and the realization of what she had just done. "Um…gomen," she mumbled despite knowing that he could not hear her or respond.

Inuyasha was still stunned, the surprise still etched into his face. However, once the smell of Kagome's blood began to bother him again, he reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out the handkerchief that she gave him the previous day. He held it out for her to use.

Kagome gasped, surprised that he still kept the gift with him. Once she figured out his intent, she shook her head and patted his arm to let him know that she declined his offer. "I couldn't! I gave it to you so you could keep it! It wouldn't be right…" she verbally explained.

He huffed and let out a sound that almost made her smile. Though it was nearly inaudible, it was something like a "Keh!"

Kagome took it to be a rare noise he let out when he was annoyed, although in a less angered sense.

In addition to the closest verbal reply he had ever given her, he forced the cloth into her hand as if to say "you have no choice in the matter."

"Geez…even though you're blind and deaf, you still can make a forceful argument," she giggled, finally giving in and wrapping the handkerchief around her hand.

After another half-hour of half attempts to teach him more words, Kagome decided to call it a day. The efforts were failures and Kagome decided that one word a day would be enough. At least he was learning somewhat…

Rising from her kneeling position, she tapped him on the shoulder as a sign to say that she was leaving. When the teacher looked back at his expression, his face sagged slightly, revealing an emotion to her that she never saw before. _Disappointment_.

"Don't worry! I'll be back!" she smiled, mentally adding that,' _Inuyasha looks cute when he pouts…'_ With that, she approached the door, opening it and stepping into the hallway. Yet again, she shut the door behind her, sending the familiar vibrations across the floor and towards the teen that reminded him that he was alone once more.

Inuyasha faced the window as he normally did. However, instead of catching the normal smell of the handicapped home, it was now mixed in with the scent of soil and the lingering traces of Kagome's blood. It then dawned on him that he did not even know her name.

* * *

Kagome left the building before any nurse or doctor could stop and inspect her hand. She did not want to stay inside of that place more than necessary that day. She wanted to get home. 

Running to the Shinkansen station, the woman went into the restroom and attempted to clean her gash. The cut seemed to slow down in bleeding and she grimaced at the slight stinging sensation she felt as she cleaned the injury. She also frowned at the fact that she knew that the cut would become a scar after a few days.

She placed the crimson-stained handkerchief into the pocket of her skirt, deciding to wash it at a later date. Finally satisfied with her ministrations, she bound the wound in several layers of paper towels and walked out and went to show the person selling tickets her Shinkansen pass.

When the bullet train arrived, she got on it and rode it to the outskirts of Tokyo. When she got off, she walked to a brick four-story building and pulled out a key. Unlocking the front door, she climbed the stairs until she reached the third floor and paced to her specific room. Pulling out another small key, she used it to open the door of her apartment and stepped inside.

"Kagome-chan?" a feminine voice called out from the small kitchen that was a mere five feet away from where Kagome stood.

"Hai, it's me," the instructor sighed, closing the door shut behind her.

The apartment that Kagome and her roommate shared was very small, but one of the standard sizes for the average living space for two women near Tokyo. The rates at the place was cheaper than at other places, making them able to get by with little difficulty.

Mahogany-colored eyes and dark-brown, waist-length hair appeared from behind the kitchen aperture. A young woman in her early twenties walked out and smiled at her friend. "I take it that you had a bad day?" she remarked once she noticed the paper-towel-covered hand.

"Actually, quite the opposite, Sango-chan," Kagome chirped, gliding into their center room and sitting down on her futon.

The woman, Sango, followed suit and sat down across from the teen. "So…what happened with your new student?" she teased in a smirk.

Kagome rolled her eyes in response. The first day with Inuyasha caused her to complain about his actions the entire night and, ever since, Sango never stopped taunting her about the "troublemaking wild man."

The teen then smiled and answered," Well, Inuyasha finally signed his first word."

"That's great!" the other woman grinned, genuinely happy for her best friend. "So, what happened to your hand?" she managed to ask after a few moments of silence passed.

"He, uh, broke the bonsai tree pot and my hand accidentally landed on some of the sharp pieces, causing them to slice open the side of my hand and wrist," Kagome murmured timidly, embarrassed at her clumsiness.

Sango's eyes flashed with concern. "Are you okay?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kagome answered.

The older woman smiled. "Good—then you won't mind taking me to see this Inuyasha fellow tomorrow?"

Kagome gulped. "Y-you want to go with me tomorrow?" she squeaked.

"Yes!" Sango grinned. "I want to watch the supposed sign-language genius at work…especially with this 'wild man,' Inuyasha! He seems like your most interesting student by far."

"He definitely is…" the younger teacher groaned, causing Sango to laugh.

After a few more minutes, the older instructor narrowed her eyes, beginning to suspect her friend. "Are you hiding something from me?" Sango demanded in a serious tone.

Kagome rapidly shook her head. "No! Of course not!" she protested, holding up her hands and feigning innocence.

Sango's intense stare penetrated Kagome like a scientist observing a slide of cells with a microscope. "I think you are…it's about him…"

"Well, besides the fact that he's rude, violent, and tends to attack without warning and reason?" the teen sighed. She knew by now that she could not win against Sango's "look."

"So…?" the woman trailed off in an expectant tone, her mahogany eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Uh…I sort of…hugged him…" Kagome said in a hushed voice.

"Ha!" Sango let out. "That settles it! I'm definitely going to meet him tomorrow!"

"But—!" the distraught teacher protested.

"There's no use talking me out of it!" the ginning woman cut her off.

Kagome flopped back against her futon and moaned.

Tomorrow was going to be _long_ day.

* * *

A/N: **ALL DEMONS IN CANON INUYASHA ARE NOW HUMAN IN THIS STORY! **(excluding Kirara) 

Gomen - I'm sorry

"Tsuchi" - Soil

Yes, I AM aware that Sango is slightly OOC. There is an actual reason for it, but you have to wait until the time comes in the story!

I apologize for the delay in the update. The only reason I updated that previous week quickly was because I was on Spring Break. Now that I'm off, I'll update less than usual because of much homework. Especially with final exams coming up…So, sorry in advance!

Enough about that, I'm off to think up the plot for the next chapter!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	5. Dysfunctional Families

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: I'm back!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! Like I care! -glares-

Turtlequeen2: What's wrong with you?

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: As if you don't know! -growl-

Story!Inuyasha: -stares ahead blankly-

Turtlequeen2: No, I don't think I know…

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What you made Kagome do to him! -points at Story!Inuyasha-

Turtlequeen2: -eyes widen and a smirk forms- Oooh! You're jealous of Story!Inuyasha because Kagome hugged him!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -turns away lightly blushing- T-that's not true! It's just that I don't think that Kagome would do that to _him_!

Turtlequeen2: -laughs- Whatever you say, Inuyasha…

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -growls again- Keh! I'll just take over your job then! It'll probably make me feel better!

Turtlequeen2: Hey—!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -clears throat- I thank the following reviewers: Negi Ramen and Yami-nabe, miko, love it, MyChem4evr, Spitfire21, AnimeMiko15, K.Higurashi, Shoushin, Kagura910, junyortrakr, midnightangel16, update!, miko, IcelandAnimeGirl, Mad Baxter, Sesshoumaru Minion, and FromUnderTheCorkTree!

To Spitfire21: Thank you for your comments about how I make Inuyasha believable. Honestly, I do not know anyone blind or deaf. I just know that I did a lot of research and I respect Helen Keller a lot. I just tried my best to make it believable. Hopefully it's enough!

To Mad Baxter: I know that I used to update this regularly, but lately the summer bug has been affecting me. I've been busy with other projects and had some hard time deciding on how to end this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Lastly, that idiot over there does NOT own me! -points at irate turtlequeen2-

Again, big thanks to W-nnabe and Kagura615 for helping me edit this chapter!

**WARNING: **There is a scene of physical abuse in here. Do not read if you are sensitive to that type of subject! You have been warned!

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**Chapter 4**

**Dysfunctional Families**

Hazel eyes narrowed in front of a giant old-fashioned manor that was isolated from the other homes in Kyoto. She had no desire to return. However, she needed a place to stay, even if she had to endure the harsh treatments of her other family members.

The building looked nearly like a formidable castle. It was built in the early 17th century and thus appeared very traditional. Stone steps led up to the many shoji doors that lined the outside of the wooden fortress. There were no windows, save for the small one that was placed within her room. Her house felt like her very own prison.

She hesitated, her black boot hovering over the first stone step, making her feel like a child that would hesitate jumping into a pool for the first time. She almost turned away, but kept completely still when she heard a masculine voice that made her blood boil with irritation.

"Kagura," the voice called out in a taunting purr. "My, back so soon? Usually, you don't return until well after no one is home." The masculine tone was quite young sounding as the teasing continued. "I wonder…did you finally get into more trouble with that temper of yours and came back here for refuge? It would explain more than enough."

Kagura did not have to turn around to know that the boy was sneering with amusement. Her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to calm herself. Letting out a shuddering breath, she replied in an unnaturally even tone. "Hakudoushi, to what do I owe to encountering your annoying existence today?"

"Oh, _that_ hurt, _dear_ nee-san," Hakudoushi smirked in a mock-hurt tone, walking in front of her so that when she finally opened her eyes, he was standing before her.

Kagura's eyes narrowed again. "I can make you hurt if you really want me to," she threatened in a deadly voice.

To this, the twelve-year-old laughed as if she had just told him a joke. "You amuse me, Kagura," he murmured, his pale-violet eyes flashing with glee.

"I'd like to hear you say that after I beat you into a bloody pulp!" the woman growled, glowering at the annoying brat.

The boy only reached her upper chest, but as he stared up at her, he would have still appeared intimidating to others. His snow-white skin made him look ghostly, contrasting against her tanner skin like vanilla to café au lait. His black hair gave his skin an even more unnatural glow. He gave her an eerie smile that made even her mentally shiver. "Oh? Like Father has done to you before?" he whispered.

What happened next left from Kagura's rational mind. She snapped.

"YOU BASTARD!" she roared, picking up the young man by his blue shirt collar and glaring at him, eye-to-eye. "You'll regret saying that!"

Hakudoushi laughed. "Why? Because it's the truth?" he bated.

Her grip tightened and her hazel eyes tinted a darker shade. "I hate you, you know that?" Kagura snarled.

"You've only reminded me five times a day," he sighed. He gave no struggles and allowed his legs to hang limply off of the ground. "So, are you going to hit me, or are you going to let me down? I have other business to attend to," he then stated.

"Ha! Your only job around here is pissing me off!" she declared.

"No, it's just my hobby," the pale boy smirked as he corrected her.

Kagura's eyes narrowed so much that one could barely tell that they were open. Her eyebrow twitched. She pulled back her fist, preparing to strike.

He gave no flinch.

The fist was inches away before another person's speech broke into the two's senses.

"Hakudoushi. Kagura," a breathy, chilling voice called out in a statement.

Kagura's bunched up hand fell back open and Hakudoushi found himself dropped harshly onto the rock-covered ground. He landed on his back, causing him to momentarily glare at her back when her face turned to see the other individual.

"Where the hell did you come from _this_ time, Kanna?" Kagura demanded, her tone sounding as if Kanna had sneaked up on her on more than one occasion.

The teenager looked up at the irate woman with her emotionless, coal-colored eyes. The girl showed similarities to Hakudoushi, being pale-skinned just as he was. The only difference in facial structure was the fact that she appeared stoic; her countenance showed no expression.

Kanna gave her sister no reply.

_'Hmm…she reminds me of Sesshoumaru…' _Kagura mentally observed. _'Wait! Why am I thinking about that bastard?'_

The woman was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her name being called out again.

"Father desires to see you," the strange, bleach-white-haired girl stated.

Kagura's eyes widened slightly. "Why the hell does he want to see me?" she demanded. Kanna gave her no answer, causing her to suppress a growl of annoyance.

"I'm sure that you will enjoy your time spent with Father," Hakudoushi laughed, walking past the irate woman.

Kagura was prepared to reach for her brother again when Kanna stopped her with her cold stare. Heaving a sigh, the woman followed Kanna into the dwelling.

Inside the shrine-like structure was dark and foreboding. Barely lit candles were the only light that shown through the maze-like hallways. The candles resided on black candleholders that hung from the walls. All of the floors within the hallways were hardwood.

As Kagura and her older sister traveled through the house, Kagura inwardly cringed, mentally commenting on how creepy the place looked. Despite living there, she never could get used to the darkness. When the two arrived in front of their father's study, they waited in front of the shoji door until a deep voice was heard from behind the sliding door.

"Come in, Kagura," came the purr of a masculine voice that made the woman inwardly cringe with disgust. When Kagura pushed aside the door, she clenched her mouth shut so as to avoid saying something impulsive to the man sitting before her.

Kanna slid the door shut behind them.

"Thank you, Kanna," the business man replied. "You are free to do as you wish."

The pale girl nodded and slid the door open so as to let herself out of the room. Once the door slid back into place, Kagura was forced to look into the cold black eyes of her father.

Kagura let out a breath that she did not even know that she was holding. "What is it that you want from me now, _Father_?" she demanded, the venom in her voice evident when she said the word "father."

"I was wondering if perhaps you would wish to see your brother return from the airport tomorrow morning?" Naraku asked, a small smirk crossing his features.

"Byakuya is coming back tomorrow?" the woman gasped out of surprise, the hatred leaving her tone.

"Yes," her father answered. "Perhaps if you were around more often, you would know that, neh?" His eyes glowed with an air of amusement.

_'Maybe if you weren't such a bastard, I wouldn't have ran off earlier!' _she growled inwardly. Her eyes narrowed slightly at him.

"No matter," he sighed, his midnight-black hair falling over his shoulder as he shook his head. "I am sure that he will be glad to see you and the others."

"So why did you pull me aside like this? You could have just told me in front of Hakudoushi and Kanna," Kagura stated.

"Yes, I could have, but I also wanted to say something else to you," he replied.

"About what?" she gulped, trying her hardest not to show him her fear.

"It's about the man you spoke to a day ago. Sesshoumaru-sama…" Naraku trailed off.

She raised her eyebrow out of curiosity. "What of him?" she asked suspiciously.

"Did you enjoy your walk with him?"

Her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat.

He let out a deep laugh when she gaped at him.

Kagura's eye gave multiple twitches as her anger began to rise. Her fists clenched at her sides. "Y-you mean to tell me, that the entire time, you were...SPYING ON ME?!" she yelled.

"Oh, I wouldn't say 'spying,' per se," he sneered. "That makes it sound like I stalk you. I like to think of it as making sure my daughter it safe as well as seeing how my salesman handles things outside of his workplace. It was quite entertaining to learn about."

Her eyes narrowed and a low growl sounded from her. "You bastard…" she snarled in rage. "Who did you send?" she then demanded.

"Think about it, Kagura," he chuckled. "Who talked to you before you came in here?"

Hakudoushi's words then rang through the woman's mind once more.

* * *

"My, back so soon? Usually, you don't return until well after no one is home."

* * *

"You sent Hakudoushi?!" she shouted. _'When I get out of here, I'm kicking that brat's ass!' _she thought to herself. "Of all the low things…!" 

"'Low,' Kagura?" he echoed. "That is an interesting way to describe how a father is supposed to watch over his children…"

"I am not a child!" she fumed, rising from her sitting position. "I am an independent woman!"

"And yet you live under my roof," he taunted.

"I only live here because you won't let me leave!" she spat.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a small spark flashing behind seemingly eternal darkness. "You have all of the freedom to leave any time you wish, my dear," he replied smoothly, despite his voice dropping into a lower tone.

"Freedom? HA!" she snorted, her fists clenched even more so. "I'm like a prisoner here! And as you just proved, I can't even go anywhere without you knowing about it!"

"My, my," he laughed. "You sure behave like the spoiled princess. I give you everything you need and you have the audacity to say that this place is a prison? You should call this a heaven."

"'A heaven'?" she echoed, taking a few steps closer to him. "A HEAVEN?! You expect me to believe that this is paradise? We don't even have decent lighting in this hell-hole you call 'home'!"

"Calm yourself, please," he suggested. "We can't have you in a bad mood when we see Byakuya."

"Calm? I'll show you calm!" she yelled, rushing forward and raising a fist, ready to strike.

Before the fist could make contact with Naraku's face, the man's hand grabbed her wrist. For extra measure, he squeezed Kagura's wrist tightly, making the woman drop to her knees in front of him from the piercing pain. While he still had control of the shocked woman, he retaliated by using his free hand to slap across her face, leaving behind a trail of crimson.

Kagura's head snapped to the side from the impact. Her eyes watered from the agony, but she forced the tears back. She refused to cry in front of him. "Bas…tard…" she growled.

"Now, Kagura, are you going to cooperate with me?" Naraku said in a cold voice.

"No…" she let out, beginning to struggle against his hold. She moved about her legs, trying her best to kick him.

However, he caught notice of her actions and squeezed her wrist even more. The woman could have sworn that she heard a crack from one of her bones.

Naraku struck with his hand again. "Now?" he repeated, when more of her blood smeared across her cheek.

Her head hung, her black hair hiding her downcast eyes. "Fine…" she trailed off, her tone sounding like a dog with its tail between its legs.

The man released his hold over her wrist and threw her roughly away from him as he did so. "I am glad that you see things my way," he smirked.

She glared at her for all of her life was worth. Her hazel eyes darkened to an almost red color. _'I can't wait until you die…' _she thought to herself bitterly.

"You are excused," he dismissed, waving his hand as if he were shooing a child.

Kagura rose on shaky legs and said nothing more as she pushed back the shoji door with her uninjured hand. She slammed it shut behind her and walked briskly to her room.

Her room was the brightest place in the entire place. She made sure to have the room with the most windows—which was two. Battery-operated lamps adorned every corner of the room and as she sat down on her futon, she turned on all of her lights.

"Damn that son of a bitch!" she shrieked, pounding her uninjured fist into her pillow.

She hissed when her cheek burned. A tear escaped her eye and slid across the cut on her face, mixing the salty liquid and her blood together. "Dammit." She put her hand to the bruised up cheek and rubbed off some of the crimson.

Staring down at the blood, she cursed again. The young woman then attempted to move her injured wrist and breathed a large sigh of relief when she found it moving. She then hissed when flames of pain surged up her arm from the sudden movement. The beaten woman gripped her injured wrist with her other hand and rubbed it so as to delude the agony, all the while allowing the wound on her cheek to continue bleeding. When she finally saw blood drip onto her futon was when she decided to rise and get herself cleaned up.

Kagura hesitantly slid opened her door and walked into the dark hallway towards the bathroom. When she arrived inside the small confines, she lit a candle with her uninjured hand and placed it on the bathroom sink. Despite the dwellings being old-fashioned, the bathrooms within the place were all western-styled; furnished with bathtubs, toilets, and sinks.

The woman grabbed for a hand towel and reached into the overhead medicine cabinet, getting a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She managed to get a little onto the towel and begin to place it on her facial cut, biting her lip as she did so, in order to prevent her from whimpering from the pain. She then got out a rather large band-aid and placed it upon her cheek. Kagura then washed the crimson from her wrists, hands, and face. After those tasks were done, she looked up in the mirror and gasped.

It seemed like every time he hit her, she was losing more and more of herself. Her eyes appeared far away and gazed over with nothingness much like Kanna's usual expression. Kagura's skin looked pale like a ghost's and her breath hitched in her throat. She hardly recognized herself. If she could not distinguish her own self, then how would anyone else be able to notice her?

_'Am I truly alone? Do I even have a reason to be here in this world?'_

This sudden thought made her hands tremble with fear and sadness. As the woman stared at her reflection, tears finally broke through the dam and spilled over onto her cheeks. She dropped to her knees and curled up her body as she sobbed. Salty droplets continued to fall as frequently as the flickering of the lone candle.

* * *

The Next Day

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"Sango-chan!" called out Kagome's voice as she followed her eager friend into the handicapped home. "Wait up!" 

The older woman stopped in front of the door and smiled back at her friend. "It's not my fault that you're so slow, Kagome-chan!"

"Oh, why did I befriend such a nosy person?" the young teacher groaned to herself.

Sango managed to hear the question and grinned at Kagome once she caught with her. "Because I helped you out on more than one occasion, perhaps?" she answered to the bewildered teenager.

Kagome only rolled her eyes and opened the door. Once she saw the nurse working at the front desk, her face broke out into a smile once more. "Ringo-chan!" she addressed.

"Oh, back again, Kagome-chan?" Ringo grinned upon seeing the young teacher. "And who's that woman next to you?" she asked when she saw Sango.

"This is Kusao Ringo, the nurse who's helped me out a lot," Kagome explained to Sango and then so Ringo, she added," And this is Kuwashima Sango, my best friend and fellow instructor."

"Thank you for your introduction, formal-san," Ringo laughed.

The rest of the women giggled at the joke. Sango and Ringo exchanged bows and then looked to Kagome to see what she was going to do next.

The young woman stifled a groan. "All right…to Inuyasha's room now…" she sighed.

"Why do you sound so distressed, Kagome-chan?" Ringo questioned as they all walked to the elevator.

As the women rode up to the seventh floor, Kagome explained her and Sango's discussion from the previous night. Ringo laughed at the tale, amused at Sango's reasons for being there. When they arrived to the room, the nurse opened the door to find that Inuyasha was not alone.

"Oh, Dr. Miroku, I'm sorry to have disturbed you…" the nurse apologized, bowing her head.

True to her word, the doctor was taking Inuyasha's blood samples as he usually did when he had the chance. After taking out the required amount, Miroku placed a bandage on the pale, needle-marked skin. Patting his patient lightly on the shoulder to signify that he was finished, he took off his gloves, setting them to rest on the tray next to the used needle and syringe.

"It's okay, I'm finished," he replied, turning to look at the ladies with a smile on his face. When his eyes caught Sango's they widened slightly. The woman before him was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her dark-brown hair was tied back in a loose fashion, the hair-band half way down the dark strands. Her eyes glowed with kindness and her body was in perfect shape, her business attire fitting her well.

"Um, Miroku-sama?" Kagome questioned, snapping the young man out of his dazed trance.

Looking over to the woman who called his name, he placed a grin on his face and walked over towards them. "Ah, Kagome-sama! It's so nice to see you again!" he declared. Glancing back towards Sango, he asked," And who is this beautiful maiden standing with you?"

"'Beautiful'?" Sango choked out, a light blush setting on her cheeks. "T-thank you, sir." She may have been able to tease Kagome, but for her own sake, she wasn't used to hearing comments about herself.

Kagome laughed at her friend's flustered expression. "This is my best friend, Sango-chan," she introduced. "And, Sango-chan, this is Dr. Miroku."

"Ah, so this is the mysterious Sango that I've heard so much about…" Miroku smirked. "I'm honored to have finally met you." He stared at the embarrassed woman before him and bowed out of respect.

She quickly returned the bow and smiled. "Well, I'm not really that honorable…" she trailed off.

"Nonsense!" Miroku yelled. "You helped Kagome-sama get her job, which in the end, helped Inuyasha."

"Well, if you put it that way…" Sango smiled, looking over at Kagome.

The young teacher smirked at her best friend's situation. It was satisfactory since Sango was planning to tease her the entire day with Inuyasha anyways…

Kagome then glanced back at her student who sat silently in his chair. Guilt lightly stabbed at her because she knew that she was ignoring him. Her guilt then ebbed away into surprise when she found that his eyes were locked on hers. "Inuyasha…" she murmured, preparing to walk over to where he rested.

Before she was able to make her way over, Ringo's voice stopped her.

"Kagome-chan!" the nurse whispered, nudging her friend.

"Y-yes?" the teacher asked, snapping back to the conversation that was before her.

"I think you might want to start worrying about your friend," Ringo giggled.

Kagome raised her eyebrow and turned her attention to the talking pair beside them. When she saw Sango's blushing face, she understood what the nurse was talking about.

Miroku had the woman's hands grasped into his own. "This may seem a bit forward, but, would you please bear my child?" he questioned, a grin on his face.

"Eh?" Sango could only say for the few first seconds. Her eyebrow twitched in shock. "W-what the h-hell do you mean?" she demanded, annoyance taking over her earlier embarrassment.

"Exactly what I asked!" he stated, his grip never faltering.

"Isn't that a little inappropriate for a doctor to be asking?" Sango demanded, ripping her hands from his grasp. "And if you're so serious, the answer is no!"

Rubbing a hand behind his head, he feigned a nervous laugh. "Please forgive me, Sango-sama. It was only a joke. I ask that to all of the beautiful women I see…"

Sango's eyes widened, a mortified blush taking over her face despite her being enraged.

Ringo and Kagome both raised their eyebrows at the man before them. "Ahem," both of them said at the same time.

"Of course, you both are beautiful, but I didn't find it appropriate to ask those that I worked with…" he laughed. "If you'd rather I ask…"

"You don't have to ask!" both of the women yelled, glaring at the man.

"I think it's time that you left these two women alone, Miroku-san…" Ringo growled, gathering the tray form the table next to Inuyasha and returning to shove the items into the doctor's arms. The nurse then began to shove the protesting man out of the door.

"Please forgive me, ladies!" he shouted as the nurse continued to push the rest of his body out. She followed behind him, pulling the door shut behind the two of them with a loud slam.

"The nerve of that guy!" Sango hissed in an angry tone. "Do you always have to deal with him?"

"That was the first time he was like that! I didn't know that he was a perverted creep!" Kagome yelled back, the irritation evident on her face as well.

A low growl snapped both of the women out of their angry moods. They turned towards Inuyasha and found that he was "glaring" at the two of them. Well, in reality, his sightless eyes were narrowed in their direction.

When Sango first walked into the room, he could immediately catch the scent mingled in with all of the other people. It was not an unpleasant scent. It was nearly as comforting as Kagome's scent. He only sat in silence while the entire situation unfolded because he had no idea what was going on. He could not hear the shouts of anger, nor could he see how all of the women reacted to Miroku's lack of manners.

However, when the nurse and doctor left, he could feel nearly feel the tension in the air. He also felt the tremors against the hard floor when the door slammed shut with more force than usual. The man grew irritated that the two women left in the room continued to ignore his presence.

"I'm guessing that he's feeling left out…?" Sango trailed off, her temper beginning to cool down.

"Probably…" Kagome sighed, walking over to where he sat. Tapping her student on the arm, she murmured, "I brought a friend with me today."

Sango raised her eyebrow at Kagome, looking at her like she had done something incredibly stupid. "Why do you talk out loud when you know that he cannot hear you?"

"I guess that it's out of habit…" the younger woman laughed.

As expected of Kagome's touch, Inuyasha's expression calmed slightly. His growls ceased and he turned to give her his full attention like a puppy to its owner.

"Hmm, he is cute, now that I can tell. No wonder you hugged him," Sango grinned.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome reprimanded, shocked that she would say something so forward.

"What? He can't hear us. It's not like you should get embarrassed…"

"I'm not!" Kagome denied.

"Right…" Sango smirked, not believing her friend for a second. "So…let's get on with your lessons, shall we?" she smiled, getting serious once more.

The younger teacher heaved a sigh. "All right, but I'm not responsible for his actions…" _'Inuyasha, please don't do something irrational again!'_ the woman pleaded silently within her own mind.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for that long wait! At least I did not give up on this story! I am still working on it! I was just caught up in writers block and summer things! 

**Translation:**

Nee-san - Older sister

As for Kanna's white hair still being in tact, there is a good reason behind it. However, once more, you will not find out until later! As for Hakudoushi being twelve when in the anime/manga he had the appearance of a much younger boy, I did it to make it more believable that he would act more like this as a human. If he was still around nine, he wouldn't be as believable...at least not to many people.

Haha, how'd you like Miroku? And yes, I'm aware that he didn't grope Sango, but that would be because he would get sued for sexual harassment…not that he could not be sued for it now…But that is besides the point! I hope that Sango was more in character this time.

Also, yes, that is a cliffy! My first one on here! I was thinking about making it longer, but realized that it seemed like a good place to cut off on.

Okay, I will now think up more for this story! And I will have a one-shot up soon! Be sure to look out for it, despite it having nothing to do with this fic!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	6. The Favorable Brother

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: Thanks for all your support! -smile-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Ha! Support for this crap? Don't make me laugh!

Turtlequeen2: Aww, you're just jealous of Story!Inuyasha getting all of the action with Kagome!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: -turns away and blushes- A-am not!

Story!Inuyasha: Keh! -smirks, knowing how Disclaimer!Inuyasha is-

Turtlequeen2: It's too bad he can't say much else, eh, Disclaimer!Inuyasha?

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: He better be glad he can't say much else! -growls-

Turtlequeen2: Ooo, is that a threat?

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! You can take it however you damn want!

Turtlequeen2: -sighs- Well, I shall get on with this! I thank all of the following reviewers: Kagura910, Rena Ryuuguu, Sesshoumaru Minion, gen'ei honsho, kandy123654, TrueBelle, MMOOORREEE, W-nnabe, miko, junyortrakr, anonymous, and baka chan!

To anonymous: Ah! A great question! Will Kikyou make an appearance in this fanfiction? Read my A/N for the answer!

Again, thanks to both of my awesome editors: W-nnabe and Kagura615!

I do not own Inuyasha—only Rumiko Takahashi does. I just like to screw around with his head a lot. -nervous laugh-

Note: Please remember that **BOLD** means that it's a word being signed!

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**Chapter 5**

**The Favorable Brother**

Kagome and Sango both stood in front of Inuyasha while Kagome situated herself. The younger teacher got out a medium-sized handbag and reached in to retrieve some of the items that she would need for her student's lesson.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, was not looking forward to this lesson at all. It was bad enough learning willingly, but in in front an audience, too?! Even if it was just one woman, he would have trouble trying to concentrate. He was not much of a peoples' person. The man resisted the urge to scowl at his thoughts and instead, remained silent and allowed a neutral expression to take over his features.

"Sango-chan, I have to warn you, Inuyasha gets frustrated very easily," Kagome explained, kneeling in front of the young man.

"Don't worry about me, Kagome-chan! I deal with enough crazy students to know!" Sango laughed as if she was hiding some deep secret.

The teenage teacher sighed and lightly touched Inuyasha's hand to get him to reveal his palm. _'Well, here goes nothing…'_ Kagome thought to herself. Picking up a small stuffed bear, she placed it within his hand.

He felt it with his fingertips, fisting his hand around the miniature animal while trying to figure out the material that it was made out of. To him, the scent was similar to that of cloth and artificial feathers.

Sango raised her eyebrow, wondering what her best friend's actions were going to be next, and watched silently.

"**Fur**," Kagome signed into Inuyasha's empty palm. Opening her palm below his unoccupied hand allowed him to figure out that it was his turn.

Inuyasha reluctantly signed the katakana back into Kagome's palm. It took a few tries, but he eventually got it, pulling away slightly when he was done and when Kagome brushed against his arm with her hand approvingly. The smallest of smirks appeared on his face at her silent praise.

A grin spread across Kagome's face. "It wasn't a fluke!" she exclaimed out loud.

"'A fluke'?" Sango echoed in a snicker. "You mean that you doubted his abilities?" Keeping her smirk in place, she added in a teasing tone," Some teacher you are."

Kagome shot a glare at her friend at her taunt. "Hey, if you would have been around a few days ago, you would have been the same way! I'm the first person that has ever taught him something to sign!" she defended herself with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

The older woman placed her hands up as if to block a ferocious demon from attacking and laughed. "I was only joking, Kagome-chan! Relax yourself."

Kagome heaved an annoyed sigh at Sango's antics. "I'd like to see you relax when your crazed-angry student throws a vase at you!" she grumbled under her breath. She suddenly sucked in a sharp breath when she felt a hand touching her still-recovering gash. Glancing up, she saw that it was Inuyasha's hand! Beside her on the floor laid the stuffed bear. "I-Inuyasha…what are you doing?" she asked out loud, her habits revealing themselves once more.

It was still sore, but since it stopped bleeding the previous night, Kagome decided to take off the wrappings around her hand. She was never one to wear items to cover her hands as it was discomforting to her and distracted her from her job. Kagome lightly flinched when his fingers continued to probe at her cut. By his expression, she could tell that he was not pleased by her decision to remove the handkerchief he forced her wear the other day.

Despite it being subtle, Inuyasha could tell that she drew back slightly just because of his heightened senses. Pulling his hands back, he let out a small growl in her direction. He pushed back the thought of Kagome's friend being around and "stared" hard at his teacher.

Sango chuckled, bringing Kagome out of Inuyasha's entrancing care. "I don't think he'll be willing to cooperate with you unless you put on a bandage," she explained.

Glancing in between the two, Kagome felt another blush creeping up her face. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "I can't work with something covering up half of my hand!"

"No, but I think _he's_ serious," Sango pointed out when the man's snarl intensified.

Kagome let out an irritated huff and turned to glare at her pupil. "You're picky, aren't you?" she mumbled.

Her friend stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll go get some thin ones that will be able to cover the cut well enough. I'm sure they'd have some in this place," Sango offered, opening and closing the door before Kagome could object.

Inuyasha quickly figured out that Sango was gone based on the slight trembles the floor gave under his feet. His growl mellowed slightly when he knew that he and Kagome were alone.

His teacher continued to glower at him while she rose to her feet. "I don't understand why you have to be so difficult! I'm fine!" she declared, being as stubborn as he was being towards her.

Inuyasha just kept his expression the same, his narrowed eyes never wavering. The thin air between them stirring told him that she was on her feet once more. "Keh!" he replied in an odd obstinate tone.

Stomping her shoe hardly against the floor, Kagome heaved an angry groan. "What am I going to do with you, Inuyasha?"

His countenance remained the same, but he turned his face away from her a little, knowing that she was enraged based on the sudden, powerful floor vibration.

_'Hurry up, Sango-chan!'_ Kagome thought to herself when the two began a game of awkward silence.

* * *

With Sango

* * *

The older sign-language instructor paced through the hallways on the top floor, trying to find a staff member to help her in her search for bandages. Finally getting fed up with the locked doors and the lack of people on the floor, she got into the elevator and rode down to the first level of the facility. 

Upon seeing a doctor walking in front of her, she smiled inwardly at her quick luck. Not bothering to pay attention to the man's back, she called out," Sir, please, could you please help me with something?"

When the male doctor heard the woman's voice, a small grin formed his face. Turning around, he smoothly replied," Sango-sama! How pleasant it is for me to be able to see your beautiful face again!"

The teacher's eyes twitched instantly, recognizing the face and voice of the man standing before her. "Oh, it's _you_," she growled out in annoyance. "Never mind, I'll go find someone else." She turned her back on him quickly.

Miroku was fast to grab her arm, locking her place before she was able to move forward. "Please, allow me to assist you. It is my duty as a doctor to help out any unfortunate soul who needs help," he explained in a melodramatic form.

Ripping her arm away from him in a forceful manner, she rolled her eyes at his antics. "Yeah, I'm sure you especially love to help out beautiful women out with their problems!"

"Yes, well, that is my particular hobby…" he mused out loud, a pleased sigh escaping his lips as if he were daydreaming. He closed his eyes for a few moments, imagining pleasant looking maidens calling out to him for help. Opening his eyes, he found that Sango was halfway down the hallway in front of them! Acting quickly, he ran after her. "Sango-san, please wait!"

The angered woman stopped in front of door that ended the hallway. It was a dead end, for the door was locked. "Oh, so it's 'Sango-san' now, doctor?" the woman responded in dripping acidic sarcasm, rotating around to glare at the man who stood in her path.

Miroku heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Please, I beg of you, forgive me of my earlier actions, Sango-_sama_," he pleaded, his violet eyes sparkling with feigning sadness. "Sometimes when I'm around beautiful women, my brain begins to function improperly."

"Uh huh," Sango nodded, continuing for him in an irritated tone. "And you began to spout nonsense to them."

"Exactly! How did you know?" Miroku exclaimed. "You know me well, Sango-sama."

"Yeah, I know that you're a perverted doctor!" she yelled.

"You're cruel," he said, faking his innocence. "I cannot help but admit that I am cursed."

"This is getting me nowhere!" Sango groaned like what she said was pure fact. "Move so I can get help from someone I can actually trust!"

"Oh, so you don't trust me?" Miroku replied, sounding depressed.

"Ha! I don't trust a perverted doctor like you!" she declared. Shoving him aside roughly, she began to walk back down from whence she came.

"Wait! What is it that you need? I'm sure that I can help!" he shouted, his tone sounding more urgent and serious. "Is someone hurt?"

Sango stopped abruptly, whirling around towards the doctor. "No, but she could be suffering from a fading wound in more ways than one," she explained off-handedly.

"And by 'she,' do you mean Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, his tone still remaining the same.

"Yes," the woman answered simply.

"What do you mean by suffering in more ways than one?" he then questioned.

She shook her head and began to walk off. "Look, I'm wasting time. I'm trying to get her bandages."

"What happened to her?" he asked, his tone sounding genuinely concerned. He sped up his pace, appearing by her side. He then stopped in front of a door and pulled a key out of his coat pocket. When he saw her hesitating, he assured her. "I have bandages in here."

She nodded and cautiously followed behind him. "She cut herself yesterday on some pot and she decided to take off her bandages too soon…" she explained.

"Ah…" Miroku opened a cabinet above a sink in the corner of the room. There was an empty bed in the center of the room, giving Sango the impression that it was a place for patients to rest in. The doctor grabbed a few wrappings from a jar and shut the cabinet door after he had a couple. Walking up to her, he placed them into her hands. "There. No harm done," he stated with a kind smile.

Sango still kept her guard up as he acted nice towards her. Glaring at the man, she pushed back her bruised ego and responded with, "A-arigatou."

"You're welcome, Sango-sama," he grinned. "So, shall we deliver these?"

"Huh? Don't you have work to do?" she asked, caught off guard by his sudden change of moods. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I promise not to try anything that may question your judgment of me," he vowed, holding his hands up with his palms facing in her direction.

"Well, if you put it that way…" she trailed off, still considering his suggestion.

"Great! Let's go!" he shouted, pacing up ahead of her after he locked the room up.

Gripping onto the bindings tightly, Sango quickened her own steps to catch up with the doctor. Both of them got into the elevator and began making their way up to the top floor. While they rode in the elevator, Sango decided to begin a conversation. "Um, Doctor-sama, your relationship with Inuyasha seems strong. It seems like you're the only person around here that respects him greatly."

Miroku cast her a smile. "Well, I arrived here around five years ago when I was about twenty," he began. "I was still going through medical school, but my university allowed me to do research at this facility. While I was here, I heard rumors about this crazed patient of theirs that was blind and deaf and how no one wanted to associate themselves with him. My curiosity got the better of me and when I finally met him, I was instantly intrigued with his attitude and fought hard to earn his respect—"

"Wait…aren't most doctors around like twenty-eight or twenty-nine when they first start out?" Sango questioned, cutting him off.

"Well, like Kagome-sama, they made special exceptions for me to get my license early," he smirked, his tone sounding slightly cocky.

"You mean, you graduated early?" she gasped, her brain feeling like it flipped within her head. _'Who would have thought that this perverted guy would be a genius?!' _she mentally thought.

Miroku feigned pain. "You doubted my intelligence, Sango-sama? You wound me."

The instructor rolled her eyes. "Well, my view of you is pretty limited. I only know you to be a tainted doctor, remember?"

The two stepped out of the elevator and began to walk down the long hallway. "True, but you know, you could get to know me better," he suggested, innocence coloring his words.

"W-what do you mean?" Sango stuttered out, caught off guard akin to a woman tripping over a stone on a sidewalk.

"Sango-sama, you needn't play dumb with me," Miroku replied smugly.

Her eyes narrowed once more. "_No_," she simply said.

"I didn't even explain myself!" he protested similar to a child would if his parents said the same thing.

"I don't care. Whatever it is, the answer is no."

The man hung his head while the young woman refrained from screaming at him.

However, it did not take long until they reached the room and ended their sudden disagreement. Miroku and Sango both cringed when they heard the loud noises of a certain pair from within the room.

"You are so stubborn!" Kagome could be heard yelling. She stomped her feet for emphasis.

On Inuyasha's behalf, he could only growl in response.

Miroku and Sango both sighed at the same time. "Well, why don't we get in between this couple's fight…?" the doctor suggested.

"Yes, let's," Sango agreed as he unlocked the door and opened it.

The pair walked in to find Kagome standing directly in front of Inuyasha's standing form. It seemed that, between the awkward silence and Inuyasha's occasional snarls Kagome finally had enough and decided to get even with her own abilities. It also appeared that during this dispute, Inuyasha was actually angry enough to rise out of his chair to even himself with her.

Miroku cleared his throat loudly, catching Kagome's attention. "Kagome-sama, isn't it bad to get involved with your students…?" he smirked.

Inuyasha's snarls quieted almost immediately when he caught the new and yet familiar scents entering his small sanctum.

The teenaged teacher paled at the sight of the man. "Y-you hentai!" she accused, pointing at the doctor. "I wasn't doing anything to Inuyasha! And besides that, what are you doing here?!" She cast a look at Sango and demanded," What is that pervert doing here?!"

Sango heaved a sigh. "He wouldn't let me come up here alone. Besides that, he's the one who gave me your bandages..." She walked over to the girl and removed the covers of the wrappings, grabbing Kagome's healing wound with her free hand. "Speaking of which…" she trailed off, placing the bandages on the younger teacher's hand. Stepping back, Sango smiled at her handiwork. "There."

"Are you sure that you got the wrong degree, Sango-sama?" Miroku teased. "You seem more than capable doing medical work on your own."

Sango glared at the man, surprising him. "You did what you wanted to do! You can leave now!"

"Ah, I suppose I deserved that much…" Miroku sighed. "Well, I hope to see you all on another day." With that, he glided out of the room as easily as he entered.

Kagome and Sango both spun around to see that Inuyasha had sat back down in his chair.

"What the…?" the older instructor murmured. "Does that mean that he's calmed down…?"

"Maybe…" Kagome agreed, her anger dissipating at the sight of the comforted teenager.

In all reality, Inuyasha felt better that his teacher decided to listen to his persistence and understood what he meant. When the instant fading scent of blood completely ebbed away, his rage deluded. He no longer felt like he was on edge.

Kagome heaved a heavy sigh and began to gather her things. Casting a look at Inuyasha, she murmured," I guess that was a wasted day…An hour has already past."

"It wasn't, Kagome-chan," Sango assured her. "He did learn a new word and showed you that he cared about your health despite showing you in his own special way…"

The younger woman groaned. "You're not going to live that down, are you?"

Sango nearly sneered in a teasing way. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Yeah, right."

The older girl only smiled and tapped Inuyasha on his shoulder in the similar way that Kagome would usually do. She walked to the door and waited for her friend.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Kagome sighed, patting him on his arm.

Inuyasha did not give her any response and turned his gaze towards the window, appearing as if he had ignored her.

The teacher felt guilt seep into her conscious. _'He really was worried about me…'_ she thought to herself. _'I shouldn't have acted so childish! Then again…he was acting the same way…but I'm supposed to be his teacher! I need to show a good example to him!' _

"Let's go, Kagome-chan," Sango called, making Kagome's thoughts dissipate.

"Right, coming!" The other woman jogged over to her friend's side and went out of the open door. Before the door shut behind them, Kagome cast the young man a last glance of worriment.

When Inuyasha felt the vibrations of the door shut against the floor, his eyes narrowed. Did he take things out of proportion? He felt a small stab of an unexplainable emotion prick the back of his mind. Was it guilt? It was something that he never experienced before. His sightless eyes narrowed. He did not like it.

* * *

That Same Morning

* * *

After that unfortunate night, Kagura and her family awoke that morning as if nothing happened. Well, all of them except for Kagura. She, on the other hand, still had the memory of Naraku's ways burned fresh into her mind. The woman prepared herself that morning, grumbling under her breath of how she wanted more than anything to move out of the hellhole she did not even call home. 

Pacing out of the large manor, she saw that her family, including her father, was already standing outside of the black limousine.

"Kagura, nice of you to finally wake up," Hakudoushi teased, beating their father to the early taunt. "Your facial band-aid matches your attire greatly!"

The woman only narrowed her eyes dangerously at her younger brother, not bothering to say a word. It was true that her bandage was still in place from the previous night. It was a wonder that there weren't any other bruises forming from what happened to her wrists.

The family all got into the back of the vehicle in silence.

Of course, Kagura had gotten the privilege to sit across of her father. For the entire ride to the Tokyo International Airport, she cast him glares while crossing her arms in a quiet stubborn fit. Luckily, Kanna sat next her while she sat against the side with the window. Kagura was sure that the car would be torn apart by her and Hakudoushi's fighting if she were to sit beside her miniature torturer.

When they finally arrived in front of the airport, the Morikawa family got out of the limo at a slow speed.

Letting out a deep breath, Kagura tried her best to rid her mind of negative thoughts. For once, she was looking forward to this reunion. Byakuya was one person that she _could_ stand in their family.

They all filed into the large building, looking around for the port that the young man was supposed to enter from.

Naraku appeared beside Kagura and cast her a warning look as if to say," Behave or else you'll regret it."

In response, his daughter glared back at him. She did not need to put up with his crap today!

"He has arrived," Kanna stated in her familiar cold, emotionless tone as she stared ahead at the gate with blank eyes.

Her sister widened her eyes slowly when she saw a comforting sight. '_Byakuya…'_ she thought to herself.

It seemed like the man noticed them all at the same time for, when he saw them, a smile crossed his face and his violet-brown eyes shown with happiness. "It's great to see you all again!" he exclaimed. He turned his head towards his most beloved sister, his long, black ponytail swaying behind him. "Kagura!" He dropped his two rather large suitcases and paced up to her, throwing his arms around her in a sudden hug.

"B-Byakuya!" Kagura stuttered, wrapping her arms back around him and getting over the surprise of being embraced. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Kagura. I missed you all," he murmured, pulling back from her. He was quick to see that tears shown in the woman's eyes.

One after another, the young man embraced them and murmured his greetings to them all. After he pulled away from an embrace with Naraku, he kept his smile in place and stated," Well, it doesn't seem like much has changed around here except that everyone grown a few inches."

_'Oh, you have no idea of how much has changed…'_ Kagura thought to herself bitterly.

Finally noticing Kagura's facial covering, Byakuya questioned," What happened to your face?"

She mentally cursed, not wanting to explain what happened. She was a fool to think that he would not notice. Explaining would mean that she would have to lie and she did not want to lie to the only relative she deemed suitable for her to stand. "Uh…" she trailed off. The woman cast a subtle glare in Naraku's direction, knowing that he also heard the question.

Naraku watched with faint interest. Either way, he did not think that Kagura would "win." Telling a lie would be obviously not a good thing to do with their bond if Byakuya were to find out that she did such. On the other hand, Byakuya would not easily believe that their father would abuse his sister so even if she told the truth, no one would believe her words. It was a lose-lose situation for her.

"Well, uh, you see…" she stuttered, thinking up a lie as quick as she could.

"Why are you so tense all of the sudden?" Byakuya questioned, noticing how the woman began to stammer.

"I just did something stupid. You know me; always clumsy…" She feigned a laugh.

"Kagura…" Kanna murmured out of nowhere, catching her sister off guard.

Kagura cast a glare towards the creepy girl, but was inwardly glad that she interrupted when she did. "What do you want, Kanna?" she demanded in a fake sounding growl.

Before the frail girl would answer, a masculine voice that Kagura was all-too familiar with sounded from behind her.

"Kagura, is that how you always treat your other family members? Really, I thought that you just treated _me_ that way…"

The woman froze in place, feeling the man's presence behind her. Whirling around, she glared at the person who dared to talk to her in that fashion.

"S-Sesshoumaru! What the hell are you doing here?!"

* * *

A/N: -laughs evilly- Okay, this time it really IS a cliffy! I can't resist them…Sorry! As for Miroku and Sango's ages, yes, I did some more tweaking, making them a few more years older than Inuyasha and Kagome than how it originally is in the manga. I did it to make them more believable in their career fields. 

As for Kikyou…I had to think long and hard about this. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Kikyou, but I don't feel that she's needed in this story…And I'm not doing this because Inuyasha and Kagome together would be easier without her being a "challenge" either.

If you all noticed, Kaede was in the prologue as her old self. Would it make sense if Kikyou was brought back from the dead in this story? Especially after I made all of the youkai in here human. Kikyou being alive and liking Inuyasha when she was in her seventies seems kind of creepy also…

But don't fear! Kaede will make more appearances in here. She will bring up Kikyou a few times. And yes, Kikyou is dead. I didn't want to kill her off, but it was vital for this story. Inuyasha being blind and deaf and orphaned seems like enough trouble on him. Adding on Kikyou would just make the poor guy want to die or something like that…

Anyways, I hope that everything in this chapter is to your liking!

Another thing I'd like to bring up. The reviews.

No, I'm not complaining about how much I'm getting, nor am I asking for more. However, I DO ask for more words in the reviews…Could some of you write more words in them rather than just "update!"? I love that you all enjoy it, but they don't tell me what I can improve on or if you really DID enjoy the chapter as I've hoped. With that being said…

Please review!

Ja ne!


	7. Restless

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: I have returned! I had to deal with a stupid computer virus…that would be what took so long…

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What the hell is a "virus"?

Turtlequeen2: Well, this is a computer virus. It infects your computer making it do things that it isn't supposed to do…It's very bad.

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What is a "computer"?

Turtlequeen2: -sighs- Why do I even bother?

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: What was that? -growls-

Turtlequeen2: Nothing, nothing! -smiles innocently- Onto the review thanks! I thank the following reviewers: gen'ei honsho, TrueBelle, black flame kit, Sesshoumaru Minion, K. Higurashi, miko, junyortrakr, inu-girl162, Kagura910, Inuluvher151, JustAnotherPerson, and RhenC4rbine.

To miko: You don't have to PM me multiple times on the same chapter. I'm aware that I need to update, and I'm glad that you enjoy my story!

To JustAnotherPerson: If I gave out a reviewer of the month award, you'd get it. I thank you so, so much for that awesome review. I read it over about fives times! It nearly made me blush. -blush-

To inu-girl162: Yes, everyone that was ever a demon or half-demon on _Inuyasha_ (with the exception of Kirara) is now _**human**_ in this AU.

Rumiko Takahashi owns all Inuyasha characters. I just have the permission to screw with the characters' heads.

I give thanks for my beta for this chapter: Kagura615.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Last time on To Be Found:**_

_"Kagura, is that how you always treat your other family members? Really, I thought that you just treated _me _that way…" _

_The woman froze in place, feeling the man's presence behind her. Whirling around, she glared at the person who dared to talk to her in that fashion. _

_"S-Sesshoumaru! What the hell are you doing here?!" _

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 6**

**Restless**

To say that she was in shock was an understatement! Kagura was utterly flabbergasted. How had this man managed to be in the same place at the same time so often?!

"That's the question I should be asking you, but it is very evident as it is," came the cool reply.

Kagura's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. "You still didn't answer my question," she pointed out.

"Oh, quite right… I am here on business," he answered with refinement lacing his tone.

"'Business'?" she echoed. "On a Sunday?"

"It was more or less a favor for my company. I'm waiting for a business partner from the United States to arrive."

"Interesting…" she trailed off, feigning curiosity. Her eyes then narrowed once more as she stared intently into his eyes. "So the real question is: why the hell did you sneak up on me like that?!" she demanded.

Before Sesshoumaru had a chance to answer, Byakuya's laughter broke through.

"K-Kagura! You two behave like you're awfully close… Perhaps you two are dating? Is there something that I should know about my younger sister?" he wheezed.

Kagura paled, throwing a glare in her brother's direction and averting her gaze from Sesshoumaru's out of embarrassment. "Ha! Me with this bastard?! Don't make me laugh!" she yelled.

Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, remained neutral and calculated even though inwardly, he cringed. He could then tell that Kagura was embarrassed and held in the smirk that wanted to be let loose. Seeing the woman fluttered was a very amusing sight to behold. "No. Me and this woman do not share that type of relationship—if any," he coldly replied. Wanting to change the subject, he turned toward the rest of Kagura's family, acknowledging his customer with a slight bow of respect.

"Naraku-_sama_, how nice it is to see you," he greeted, his eyes hardened and his honorific usage was said in a tone of difficulty. His countenance remained unfazed.

"Yes, the same to you as well, Sesshoumaru-_sama_," Naraku addressed, using the honorific in a similar tone. Smirking a little, he added, "And I commend you on your great job correcting my order."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, remembering distinctly all of the hell he had to go through in order to "correct" the bastard's orders. "Arigatou," he said instead of what he was really thinking.

Looking in between the two men, Kagura could tell that they did not like each other. Glancing at Sesshoumaru, she frowned for a few seconds. Did he think so little of her? She then shook her head to rid her head of "ridiculous" thoughts such as that. Why did she care? She hated him too, right?!

"So, Kagura…" Hakudoushi trailed off, catching his older sister's attention. "I was wondering this myself. What _is _your relationship with Sesshoumaru?" In this sense, he was playing the role of a normal younger brother who was curious about his older siblings' business. However, to take Hakudoushi as a mere child was to underestimate his troublesome presence.

"Humph! What makes you think that I have a relationship with him?!" Kagura scoffed. "Besides the fact that you were spying on me!"

"I was merely curious. I mean, for one who doesn't like him, you do act very…_nervous_ around him…" Hakudoushi chuckled. "It's almost as if you are a girl with a crush on a guy…"

"And what would you know about a crush, you brat?!" the young woman hollered, glaring at the boy. "Knowing you, you'd scare away any girl that you come in contact with just your looks, let alone how you behave!"

"Oh, _nice_ comeback, Nee-san," Hakudoushi threw back, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his sister's childish behavior.

Kanna got in between the feuding siblings and stared both of them into submission with her emotionless gaze. At times like these, it seemed like she was the adult amongst a throng of children.

"Heh. You're not worth my time, anyways…" the woman snorted, crossing her arms and glancing back at Naraku and Sesshoumaru.

The younger boy merely smirked at his sister's undoing. "If I weren't worth your time, you wouldn't be arguing with me in the first place…" he pointed out before silencing himself.

Byakuya sighed, witnessing the entire fight, but watching his father and Sesshoumaru's interaction at the same time. Pacing up to Kagura, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't mind him, Kagura," he murmured, a small smile on his face.

Kagura let out a breath and placed her hand over his. "Thank you, Byakuya," she replied. "At least you're here now…"

While the siblings watched on, Sesshoumaru and Naraku engaged in a conversation about business. What type of business they were discussing, no one cared for nor knew. While Sesshoumaru talked with Naraku, he heard Kagura mention Hakudoushi spying on them. Sesshoumaru knew that she must have meant at the park since they hadn't talked anywhere else outside of his office.

"So, Sesshoumaru-sama, when is your associate going to get here?" Naraku pondered.

"In about a half-hour," the man responded, looking down at his watch.

"Ah," Sesshoumaru's customer only said, almost as if he wanted Sesshoumaru to leave his sights.

Noticing how Kagura concentrated mainly on Sesshoumaru, Byakuya knew that the woman liked him in some sense. Being the _affectionate_ brother that he was, he decided to meddle in Kagura's affairs. Stepping up next to his father, he suggested, "Perhaps we should give Kagura and Sesshoumaru-sama a few moments alone with each other?"

"Why?" came the question from Naraku, Kagura, and Sesshoumaru, all of which were saying the particular word in a different tone.

The eldest sibling gave a small shrug. "Its obvious that these two know each other and I'm sure that it's rare when they get to have time to talk about things together."

"But, Byakuya," Kagura cut in. "I want to catch up with you since we haven't seen each other in years!" She was very reluctant to spend any time with Sesshoumaru. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't stand him!

"And you will have time to do that later," he assured her. "I mean, I _will_ be living with you until I get my own place."

"And do I not get any say in this?" Sesshoumaru spoke up. "I do agree with Kagura on this matter. It would be rude of her to spend her time with me when you have recently returned for the first time in years. It's only natural of her to feel that way."

Kagura nodded her head in agreement with the man's words despite her not liking to agree with him. She figured that he wanted to avoid being with her as much as she did around him.

Byakuya smirked. "I wouldn't take any offence to it at all. Besides, she can make it up to me later if she still feels guilty. I would like to talk to the rest of my family about her actions anyways."

The young woman raised her eyebrow at her brother. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing much, Kagura," the older sibling replied. Leaning over closer so that only she could hear him, he whispered, "I know you don't like him quite that much, but think of this as my way to annoy you as your older brother."

The woman threw him a glare when he stepped back. "You are screwed up in the head, you know that?" she pointed out.

"Yes, I'm aware that my degree certifies it," he threw back in sarcasm. Smirking, he walked over to Naraku's side. "Father, I think that we should leave her here until his guest shows up, in the least."

"You seem persistent, Byakuya," Naraku said. "Kagura and Sesshoumaru-sama have both made it obvious that they want nothing to do with each other."

Murmuring to his father, Byakuya stated words in a tone that was unlike his earlier self. "I realize that, but Kagura should take this as my present for her. If you get my meaning…" A small sneer appeared on his face.

"I see," his father replied, believing his son. He assumed that Byakuya opted to submit Kagura through a humiliation of some sort. Even if Kagura really did like Sesshoumaru, it did not threaten him at this current point. If the two did ever fall for each other, he could always find some way to put a stop to things. He always managed to find _some_ way…

"So, shall we go?" Byakuya smiled in an innocent fashion, wrapping his arm around Naraku's shoulder.

"Yes," the older man answered. Waiting for the rest of their family to follow him with the exception of Kagura, he cast his eldest daughter a warning look as if to say "watch your back." When Hakudoushi and Kanna were beside their father, he left her with one last message. "Kagura, when you are finished, come find us. You know that I _worry_ about you when you're left unattended to…" Laughing a bit, he finally walked away.

Kagura's eye twitched as she glared after her bastard father. "I'm sure you do," she muttered with venom in her voice, thinking back to when he practically told her that Hakudoushi was spying on her and Sesshoumaru. Rotating to look at the man in question, she glared at him. "And please ignore anything my brother told you or made me off to sound like."

The man nodded subtly. "I shall take note of that," he only said.

"I can't stand him…" she muttered under her breath.

"Who? Naraku?" he pondered, hearing her. Based on their previous conversation, he knew that it was easy to assume.

"Of course, him…" she answered. "You don't seem like you like him much either." Thinking about that made her smirk slightly.

"As I've said, it is merely manners I give him. It is only proper for business."

"Is that your excuse for everything? You told me that when you didn't want to say 'you're welcome' to me the other day," she snorted.

He gave her no verbal response, making her smirk grow even more so.

"So, have you ever met this guy your company sent you to meet?" Kagura questioned when silence overtook their conversation.

"No, this is my first time seeing him," Sesshoumaru replied, shaking his head.

"Would you mind if I accompanied you, then?" she questioned, growing curious to see the man Sesshoumaru was being made to greet.

"Do as you wish," he told her in his cold voice. "The only thing I know of this man besides his business records is that he has a son living in a hospital near Tokyo. His wife recently passed away from the same disease his son now has."

The woman nodded her head, a solemn look overtaking her features. "Ah, I see…"

"And with that, I am going to walk to the correct gate," Sesshoumaru stated, beginning to walk away from Naraku's eldest daughter.

Kagura jogged to catch up with the business worker when she noticed that he left her behind. When he finally stopped, they were in front of gate "G5." Five minutes after they arrived, the stewardess worker announced the flight landing.

After several more minutes, people began flooding out of the gate entrance, most looking for the ones who came to see them and others walking to other places.

There was one man in particular that caught Kagura's attention. A red-haired man with light brown eyes wearing a business suit very similar to that of Sesshoumaru's. To her surprise, this was the man who Sesshoumaru approached!

"_Hello. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Watanabe. My name is Sesshoumaru Yamaguchi, the business associate that was sent here to greet you_," Sesshoumaru said, pronouncing very good English, much to Kagura's surprise. He gave the American man a short bow out of respect.

She watched, snapping her jaw shut after getting over the initial shock of the man speaking in another language she could barely understand. Sure, she took classes on speaking conversational English, but it did not teach her that much.

Mr. Watanabe bowed in return, seeming to be accustomed to Japanese customs. For an American, his height seemed below that of the average man. He matched the height of Kagura while other men would have been taller than her. He gave Sesshoumaru a friendly grin, his chocolate-colored eyes sparkling. "_I am pleased to meet you as well, _Yamaguchi-san," he spoke. "_Though, there is no need to use English with me. I can speak decent Japanese since I've lived here before._"

Turning to look at the woman standing beside the Japanese man, Watanabe asked, "And who is this beautiful woman standing beside you?"

Kagura noted his usage of the Japanese language and gave him a smile at his compliment.

"She is one of my customer's daughters. She wished to accompany me to meet with you since she bumped into me earlier when she came to see her brother," Sesshoumaru explained before Kagura had the chance to cut in.

She threw a small glare at Sesshoumaru. "Thank you for the introduction," she forced herself to say, though towards Sesshoumaru, she meant it to be sarcasm. Placing the smile back on her face, she introduced, "My name is Morikawa Kagura." She bowed to him afterwards.

Watanabe returned the gesture and smile. "A beautiful name. I remember seeing one of those dances with my wife a few years back," he responded in a wistful tone. "The miko here are truly something."

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru nodded. "I know a woman who had a miko as an older sister. She was known to be quite famous in her day." It was the truth. He spoke of the elderly woman he remembered seeing years ago. The same woman who took his brother away from him. Kaede.

"Ah, you wouldn't happen to mean _Kikyou_-sama, would you?" Watanabe asked. "If that's the case, I agree with you. I had the chance to see her in her youth."

"It's quite saddening that she had to die in such a tragic way, though," Sesshoumaru added, making light conversation. "It is said that she was trapped in a fire set upon her Shinto shrine." Inwardly, he was surprised that the man knew of her name, but outwardly, he gave no one the satisfaction of the shock he felt.

"Ah…I have heard of that," the older man nodded. "It is saddening."

Kagura raised her eyebrow at the men, captivated by their conversation for some odd reason. Maybe she had always liked tragedy? She was known to be cryptic at times. It had to have been because misery was her only comfort zone since she had felt it for so long. She shook her head slightly to rid herself of such thoughts. "Sesshoumaru has told me that you have a son here…" Kagura decided to bring up, wanting to change the subject.

"I do, indeed," Watanabe agreed. "And speaking of which, I was wondering if perhaps someone would be able to show me the way to his hospital? He had got relocated recently because of his mother's death." The tone he used was solemn, proving that he was still trying to get over his wife's death.

"Ah," Sesshoumaru remarked. "I would be more than happy to take you to this hospital, depending on where it is located."

"That would be great, Yamaguchi-san!" the man grinned.

"What is the hospital called?" Sesshoumaru then asked in a monotonic fashion.

"It is the _Center of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped_," Watanabe answered in a simple voice.

Kagura watched with rising interest when she noticed Sesshoumaru's face harden more than usual. What was bothering him and why did it matter what place it was?

"I'm horribly sorry, but I do not think I'd be able to take you," the young man said. "I've never been able to get along with the staff in that place. I've been there before to take care of personal business."

The woman grew curious now. What kind of personal business would he have there? To visit his dying parents or something? Was he lying?

Watanabe managed a smile. "I'd appreciate an escort and I thank you, nevertheless."

Kagura's curiosity rose to an all time high. She could not resist. "I'll take you if you want. I know where that place is," she offered in a friendly tone. For some reason, she could feel Sesshoumaru's icy stare pierce through her back. There was something that Sesshoumaru did not want anyone to figure out and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Oh! You would?" Watanabe questioned in a hopeful tone. "If that's the case, then Yamaguchi-san wouldn't have to worry about finding me an escort. I'd love it if you could take me!"

"It's not a problem," Kagura smiled. "However, you'd have to wait until tomorrow since they wouldn't take visitors on Sunday."

"I understand," he responded. Bringing out a small business card, he handed it to her. "Here's where my new office location would be with my number. If you know where Yamaguchi-san's office is, you'll find me easily."

"Okay, then I'll pick you up tomorrow," the woman grinned. Casting a quick glance back at Sesshoumaru, she saw that his eyes were narrowing. She bit her lip to prevent a laugh from escaping. She hated to admit it, but he looked kind of _hot _when he was pissed off. "And with that, I'll take my leave." Before sauntering off, she threw back, "It was very _nice_ seeing you again, Sesshoumaru."

The irritated man bit back a growl of frustration and turned to face Watanabe again. "I'm glad that Kagura was as nice to offer her services to you," he then said in a calm fashion, composing himself once more. Inwardly, he was thinking about how much of a sneaky bitch Kagura was. Though she hated her father, she was more like him than she would ever admit. "Let us take our leave."

"Yes, that would be nice," Watanabe replied.

"And do not worry about your luggage. I already contacted the staff here to take it to my car," Sesshoumaru explained.

"Arigatou, Yamaguchi-san," the older man responded, beginning to walk alongside the younger male to the main doors of the airport.

* * *

With Kagura

* * *

Before she found the rest of her family, she let out a loud laugh, remembering the look on Sesshoumaru's face. It was nearly priceless! It was so hard to unravel the cold-hearted bastard and yet she had managed to do it without even trying hard. 

"Father!" she called out, getting Naraku's attention.

The group were all currently in a small airport café, discussing past events and the like. Naraku rose from his seat along with the rest of the family. "Ah, Kagura," he remarked. "I hope you enjoyed your conversation with Sesshoumaru-sama?" A small smirk crossed his face at the thought.

"I did very much," she replied, a small, evil sneer appearing on her face. It quickly dissolved when she remembered that it was something her father did often.

"Ah, so I see," he chuckled. He was certain that Kagura gave his salesman hell. "Is there something that you wished to discuss?"

"Actually, yes," Kagura answered. "I was wondering if I could borrow one of our cars?"

"And where do you intend to take this car?" he questioned in a fatherly-like tone.

"I promised Sesshoumaru's associate to take him to see his son in the 'special home' on the outskirts of Tokyo," she explained.

Byakuya and the rest of his siblings listened in on the conversation silently. Why would she make such a promise to a man she did not even know?

"Ah, the institute," he replied. "Sesshoumaru-sama actually has his own relative in there as well," he then mentioned, making Kagura's eyebrow raise.

"Oh, really?" she said. _'Perhaps that was why he refused to take Watanabe-san…' _she thought to herself, not wanting to let on what her real intentions were. That made her trip to this hospital even more urgent. Perhaps she could see this so-called brother of Sesshoumaru's?

For some reason, Byakuya could tell that Kagura was interested in the information that Naraku gave her and decided to intervene. "Father, may I volunteer to take her?" he asked.

"And why would you want to do that?" Naraku pondered, his eyebrow cocked in interest.

"I figured I would help out my beloved sister. Not to mention, it gives us extra time to bond," he explained, a smirk coming to his face.

The woman in question scowled. Why did her brother have to get involved in this? She heaved a sigh. At least it wasn't someone like Hakudoushi going with her… Forcing a smile, Kagura added, "I don't mind it. As long as I can go."

Their father nodded, mentally expecting his eldest son to report his findings to him. He wanted to make sure that Kagura was going for her true intentions. "I will allow it."

"I appreciate it very much," Kagura said, bowing her head slightly.

"Now, we will take our leave of this place," Naraku stated, walking out of the café after paying for whatever meal him and the rest of their family had while they were waiting on Kagura. The rest of them followed behind him without words.

A small smirk grew on Kagura's face as she watched her father's back. Monday would be a fascinating day, indeed.

* * *

With Kagome and Sango

* * *

Two specific women were quite pleased with their only day off of work. Their week was tiring with their students. 

This particular Sunday was even more joyful for Kagome. She was still trying to get used to Inuyasha's attitude problem and style of learning, causing for much fatigue by the end of the week.

Since their place of refuge was small, they shared the bedroom, both waking around the same time on their futons. Well, technically, Sango's cat woke Sango by her various mews, announcing her hunger.

"Kirara…?" Sango mumbled, petting her cat absently on the head and rising up to find that it read 11:00 AM on the clock across from her futon.

Kirara gave a small purr, brushing her cream-colored fur against her master's hand. She was an odd looking cat, often compared to the folklore nekomata in Japanese mythology. Her wide tail was striped with black, giving off the appearance of two tails from far away. Her red eyes and black-tipped ears were given to her from her strange heritage.

When Sango first got Kirara as a kitten, the cat was injured from some accident, causing her to have a black diamond-shaped scar on her forehead. Ever since the woman first took the cat under her care, she bonded strongly with her. Kirara managed to help her through many hard times before Kagome came along.

Upon hearing the noises coming from the two, Kagome began to stir as well. Stretching her arms and yawning, she rose into a similar position that her friend was in. "Sango-chan?" she mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Oh! Ohayo, Kagome-chan!" Sango giggled, continuing to stroke Kirara absently.

"I see that Kirara decided to wake you up again?" the younger woman grinned. It seemed like it was the cat that woke her friend up before the alarm clock most days. Kagome began to rise, walking to their closet to get some clothes to change into and going to the bathroom to begin preparing herself for the day the lay ahead of her.

Sango nodded to her friend before she walked off to do her usual things. She stood up, allowing Kirara to jump into her arms before pacing to the kitchen to get Kirara's cat food set out in the small bowl resting on the tiled floor.

The small neko mewed in happiness, jumping onto the floor and eating her food with a gingerly pace.

Sango only smiled kindly at the cat. Today, she was going to have to go to the hospital for a visitation as she usually did every Sunday. The thought made her happy expression delude.

After about thirty minutes, Kagome appeared out of the bathroom, clad in a knee-high navy skirt and a matching colored long-sleeved shirt. "You want me to go with you, Sango-chan?" she questioned, knowing where Sango was planning to go.

"No, it's okay. You should go enjoy yourself!" her best friend replied with a smile. "You had a hard week with that new student of yours."

Kagome huffed, noticing how Sango's tone changed in mid-sentence. "You're never living that down, are you?" she questioned.

"I think you're over-exaggerating on him a bit. Sure, he's violent and impulsive, but he does care about you as a person," the older woman pointed out.

"You're making him sound like he has a crush on me or something…" Kagome mumbled.

"Oh, I don't know…anyone who saw him growling over your lack of a band-aid would have thought the same…"

The young teacher narrowed her eyes. "I can't wait until I can meet your students…"

Sango only gave a laugh. "Lighten up a bit, Kagome-chan!" A thoughtful expression came over her. "And as a matter of fact, since one of the main hospital branches has the possibility of closing down, you may meet several of them before long…"

"That's horrible…Why would hospitals close down?" Kagome demanded with a worried look, her current mood switched off like the flick of a switch.

"Probably not enough funds…" Sango trailed off, shaking her head. "I'd rather not think about that now. I'd rather think about today."

Kagome nodded. "If you're sure that you want to go alone, I'm going to go shopping," she explained, changing the topic back to Sango's weekly trip.

"Go! I'll be fine!" Sango grinned, despite feeling hesitant.

"Alright. I hope you'll be okay," Kagome sighed, walking to the door after stopping to pet Kirara when the cat was finished eating. Taking one last glance at her friend, she grabbed her purse and opened the door, making her exit.

When Kagome shut the door behind her, Sango heaved a sigh. "I might as well get ready, too," she spoke, going over to her dresser and picking out what she going to wear before entering the bathroom.

After she was finished preparing herself and eating, she grabbed her own purse and paced to the door before glancing back at Kirara. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell _him _about you, too," she smiled warmly, moving out of the door and locking it shut behind her after Kirara gave her a small mew in response.

Sango walked to the train station, thankful once more that the trip wouldn't be that far. Before getting on the train, she bought flowers from a nearby boutique, thinking to herself that the person she was going to visit would like them. During the entire train ride, her face appeared solemn and she remained silent to whatever went on about her.

Getting off at the Yokohama station, she took a taxi to the rather large hospital in the hub of the city. After paying the driver, she walked into the building, taking the elevator to one of the top floors. The staff of the particular floor knew her well and so said warm greetings to her. She managed a weak smile to them in return as she moved towards the particular room she wanted to go to.

She opened the door and took a stride towards the window sill, replacing the dying flowers with the ones she had bought earlier. Pulling up a chair against a wall, she set it beside the large centered bed before going to close the door to the room.

Sango took a seat in the chair, taking note of the tubes connected to the person's arms. She grasped at one of the pale, lithe hands, and let out a sigh, forcing herself to smile. "I came back as I always do," she murmured, despite knowing that the person would not respond.

Looking up at him, she knew that if his eyes were open, they would shine an innocent brown. Now, the youthful face was pale and his eyes remained closed as if he were in a peaceful slumber. His black hair grew out, becoming able to be pulled back into a ponytail. He was only clad in a white hospital garment, but the pale blue covers covered up his body, save for his arms and the neck up.

"K-Kohaku…" Sango sighed, feeling hot liquid prick the back of her eyes. Laying within the bed was her younger brother. He was under a coma. Smiling despite the fact that she was near crying, she murmured, "Kirara can't wait to see you…" She knew that the boy had never met the cat yet, seeing that he was put under the long sleep two years ago. Kirara was a month old when Sango rescued her half a year after Kohaku had been placed in the hospital.

The old wounds were opened every time she saw his face before her. Seeing his innocent face painted the burning memories back into her head from that one particular night… Shaking her head, she willed the memories to leave her mind. Now was not the time.

The siblings shared a bond stronger than most. When he was put under, she felt as if half of herself died that day. Every Sunday she would come to his bedside and tell him of how her life was doing, almost as if he were there talking with her.

A lone tear trailed down her cheek. It was one of her best days. Occasionally, she would sob by his bedside and some days, she would shed a few tears before leaving.

"Kagome-chan has a new student now," Sango smiled, forcing herself to laugh a little. "He's very active, you could say…" She trailed off, going into how her week went for the next few hours.

* * *

With Kagome

* * *

Kagome loved shopping in Tokyo during her free time. It was probably the mere fact that she was a young woman with a pay check and many free hours. Going down one of her favorite streets in an outlet mall, she spotted quaint little shops lined up outside. 

One store in particular caught her eye. A place that engraves names onto items. Jogging in front of the spot, she walked up to the store clerk. "Excuse me, sir," she called out, getting the elderly store clerk's attention.

"Is there something you are interested in purchasing?" he asked with a smile, his black eyes sparkling from the sunlight.

"Yes, um…" she trailed off. "Do you have handkerchiefs? Like maybe ones with monograms on them?" She thought back to the day that Inuyasha kept the first one that she gave him until she cut herself. She was not able to clean the blood off so it was wasteful to keep.

"Yes, we have them in a variety of names. We can also custom sew a name onto one if you wish," the salesman answered.

"I have two names in mind, but I only want one sewn on there…" she trailed off in thought. Since the original handkerchief had her name on it, it should be the same way, right? Then again, his name would fit just as well, symbolizing that he would own it… As she tossed around the two names within her mind, the salesman cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"Miss, if I could…" the salesman cut in.

"Y-yes?" Kagome asked, caught off guard since she was so caught up in her thoughts.

"May I suggest using both names? You seem to be in a dilemma about which one to use," he suggested.

She nodded in agreement. "You're right…" she laughed. "I'll just use both, then. How much will that be?"

"Excellent," he grinned. "It will cost nine-hundred yen," he then said, beginning to ring up the cost in the cash register in front of him. After she paid him, he explained, "After you tell me the design and the names, we will take to sewing it right away. It will be done in about one hour."

The teacher nodded again. "Then, I want one name on the opposite corners of the handkerchief," she told him.

"And the names?"

"Kagome and Inuyasha."

* * *

A/N: Yes, the hospital name, the _Center of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped, _is real. I looked it up on Wikipedia. It is also in Tokyo. 

On that same note, Yokohama is also a real city. It's actually the second biggest city, behind Tokyo, of course. It's only eighteen miles from Tokyo. I bet some of you didn't know that!

For the Naraku-Tachi, I'm basing their ages around their human appearances. So, in that sense, Kagura and Byakuya are older than Kanna and Hakudoushi.

Of course, I know that Kanna is really the eldest and Byakuya is the youngest of all the incarnations. I figured that since they're humans now, it wouldn't make much sense to base their ages on their youkai formations… So, I hope that clears up some confusion…

And, yes, I used yen since this is in _Japan_. For those that don't know, nine-hundred yen is around nine to eleven dollars in U.S. currency. The handkerchief would be much more expensive in Japan even if in the United States they would charge around seven dollars. Japan has high taxes…

**Translations:**

Miko - Priesstess

Arigatou - Thank you

Ohayo - Sort of like the informal version of "Ohayo gozaimasu" which means "Good morning." So, it's sort of like saying " 'Morning."

As for Kagura's name, yes it does mean the dance that miko perform at special ceremonies. And by the way, did anyone catch how I involved Kikyou?

Anyways, enough about Japanese culture lessons… I bored you all enough.

I'm really sorry that I took so long to update. I was busy with things related to the up-coming school year. Yay, I'm going to be a Senior! -random- Not only that, but I had a little bit of personal problems as well as that stupid virus! But don't worry, me and my computer are fine now! Not that you all would care much, though…

I'm so excited about the next chapter. There will be more Inuyasha and Kagome fluff! Maybe some Kagura and Sesshoumaru moments thrown in. Yeah, a little bit of a preview since you all had to wait for a month.

Oh! And before I forget, does anyone know who the boy is? The one that is Watanabe's son. I shall give whoever guesses right a virtual cookie!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	8. Names

**Disclaimer: **

Turtlequeen2: I know, I know, I made you all wait for so long… Although, for this chapter, I had a little difficulty writing the outline. You have my apologies!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! I don't think that they care about your excuses! You're just lazy.

Turtlequeen2: -glares- I was doing other things, too, but I was telling the truth about the outline.

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Ha! I was right! -smirks-

Turtlequeen2: -narrows eyes- Kagome-chan, could you come in here please?

Disclaimer!Kagome: Huh?

Turtlequeen2: Please remind him what you are still capable of doing.

Disclaimer!Kagome: Oh! Okay. Inuyasha, OSUWARI!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Argh! -falls face-first into dirt- Damn you…

Turtlequeen2: -grins- You're still the same Inuyasha in disclaimers, beads and all… -winces at Inuyasha's glare- …Well, uh, before he kills me, I shall thank the following reviewers: gen'ei honsho, K.Higurashi, Hearii, harmony220, Goldenstargirl, TrueBelle, Sesshoumaru Minion, inu-girl162, Natalee4044, angel-kamui, and kagome past and present!

I present cookies for Natalee4044 and harmony220 for guessing the right character! -hands out cookies-

I do not own Inuyasha! Rumiko Takahashi does, however…

I thank W-nnabe for helping to beta part of this chapter!

**EDIT NOTE: **I give much thanks to Hearii for pointing out my error in the flashback being in Kagura's POV while she couldn't have experienced certain things. I tried my best to make it seem like a more generalized flashback. I give my apologies for any more errors I may have written out. Please don't hit me! -ducks-

**

* * *

Chapter 7**

**Names**

When Kagome arrived at the hospital that morning, the day started off normal enough. Then it decided to go into a much better turn of events for her and her student before spiraling into disaster.

Clutching at the newly-made handkerchief within her pocket, the young teacher greeted Ringo at the front desk before going up to the top floor. When she finally reached Inuyasha's room, she opened the door, finding it occupied by Dr. Miroku.

She was still weary of the man ever since the Sango incident. She silently waited for him to finish with collecting Inuyasha's blood sample and hoped that he would leave the room without talking to her. However, it must have been the furthest thing from the doctor's mind.

Approaching her, he acted as if the scene had never happened with her around. "Ah! Kagome-sama, how nice it is to see you again!" he grinned, pushing the cart out of the thick door so he had free hands.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Likewise, I guess," she grumbled, clearly not meaning her words.

Dropping his innocent behavior, he sighed. "May I ask for your forgiveness?" he pondered. "I know that it was a _bit _forward of me… Especially for me to try something like that on your friend, Sango-sama…"

"'A _bit'_?" she seethed. "You asked if she could bear your child!"

"Yes, truthfully." He feigned a thoughtful expression. "And I guess I could have pushed it with you and Ringo-san…"

"I agree," Kagome growled. "If you'll excuse me, I have a student to teach…" Before she had the chance to bypass the distraught doctor, he stepped in front of her.

"Please, wait for a moment longer, Kagome-sama," Miroku pleaded. "It's obvious that we will have to cooperate with each other in the future since we work in the same facility with the same patient. So, for Inuyasha's sake, could we forgive and forget? I'm willing to start over if you would allow me to."

She raised her eyebrow, her anger abating in the slightest. "And you promise not to be a pervert in front of me and Sango-chan?"

"Well, I can't honestly say that I can control myself completely when it comes to that," he murmured, laughing nervously. "Although, if it means that much to you, I shall try my best!"

Kagome smiled a little. "Then I'll hold you up to that," she told him. "Miroku-sama."

The young man grinned at her use of the joking honorific. "Well, with that settled, I will allow you to begin your work." Glancing back at his patient, he smirked. "And between you and me, I think that Inuyasha missed you. He was quite the irritated man yesterday…"

The woman's eyes widened slightly while she forced a cough. "At least he is willing to have me around, now, right?" she commented.

"Perhaps. All I will say is that you're the first person he's been so insistent on being with since I've began working with him." Before she had the chance to say anything in response, he glided out of the room, pushing his medical cart down the hallway.

Closing the door behind the doctor, she went over to Inuyasha. "You wanted to see me?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. That was hard to believe for some reason. Then again, why would Miroku lie to her? He had no reason to do that to her. Ridding her head of such thoughts, she placed her bag onto the floor and reached over to tap her student on the shoulder, signifying her being ready to teach him.

The young man's scowl lightened up slightly. It was obvious that he was scowling when Miroku and her had been talking. Inuyasha disliked it when people completely ignored him even though he was in the same room as them. It was not as if all of his senses were bad!

Sighing, she touched him gently on his arm, murmuring an apology. Taking out the handkerchief, she clutched his hand with her other hand, making him reveal his palm to her. Putting the cloth into his palm, she closed his fingers over it, silently telling him that it was his to keep.

Inuyasha faced her, a confused expression on his countenance. Why was she giving him another cloth? He was not even expecting her to get him a new one after he returned the first to help her with her injury. Based on the more crisp texture and slightly different scent intermixing with Kagome's own scent, Inuyasha knew that it was a new replacement.

The teacher took his other hand and made him feel over the stitched in names. She smiled at his confusion. For some reason, this time, he looked…_cute_ since he was also curious as to what she was up to. "I'm going to teach you our names," she announced aloud.

Knowing instinctively that Kagome was about to begin the lesson, Inuyasha placed the handkerchief on his exposed knee, leaving both hands open for her use.

Kagome made him use his right index finger to trace over his own name. Of course, the man did not know that it was his own name, but it would not matter since she was going to teach the hiragana of it rather than the kanji. Taking the same hand, she began to finger-spell the hiragana.

"**I-nu-ya-sha,**" she spelled out slowly, making sure that every one of the characters were emphasized. Judging by the way his face was scrunching up, she could tell that he was confused. "That is your name, Inuyasha," she murmured, using her finger to nudge him in the chest. She repeated the finger-spelling and the poke, hoping that he would eventually catch on. She then led his hand into her open palm, wanting him to repeat the hiragana.

"**I-nu**…" he began before forgetting the rest and huffing loudly.

"Just try again," she said aloud, pushing her palm into his fingers to encourage him.

Growling a bit, he complied, putting his mental concentration to work. After a few more tries, he finally made out the word. "**I-nu-ya-sha**."

She grinned, patting him on the shoulder in a congratulatory manner.

For some reason, the young man could tell that his teacher was happy at his progress. At first, he was puzzled at the way she kept poking at his chest, but eventually understood that the word belonged to him somehow. He could finger-spell out the word, but he had no idea of what it meant to him.

"Now, for my name…"Kagome trailed off, taking his fingers and running it across her name on the handkerchief. She then repeated the actions she used to get him to sign his own name, just replacing it with her own. She grabbed his right hand and made it rest a few inches above her chest, silently telling him that she was the one that owned this word.

"**Ka-go-me**," she finger-spelled.

He was thankful that this word was simpler than the one he "owned." After two tries, he finally got the name right.

"**Ka**"

"**Go**"

"**Me**"

The woman let out a laugh of happiness. "You know our names now!" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to hug him once more. Instead, she patted him gently.

Inuyasha knew that he did something right and allowed a small smirk to form on his face.

Kagome looked at him incredulously. A smirk? Since when did he _smirk_?! And why was she so taken by it? She actually _liked _the facial expression.

The student was tossing around what he pictured within his mind. He may have been blind, but it did not stop him from making up mental pictures based on scents and ideas. He was contemplating the two words, wondering why they were so significant. He sat there in silence until it finally hit him. Names! His sightless eyes widened and his cocky expression disappeared. He knew his own name! And he knew _hers_! Of course, he did not know how they were pronounced, but he knew that they were what they would be called by other people.

"I-Inuyasha…?" she asked, rubbing his hand quickly before pulling away, trying to get his attention. "I wonder what's wrong…?"

The man groaned out something incoherent due to his lack of knowing words, making Kagome stunned. It was sort of like a "nyah." Whatever it was supposed to be, it sounded full of confidence and gratefulness, which she knew was very unlike him. "I wonder if you're sick…?" she joked nervously.

Before she could say more, he took her hands into his own, causing the teacher's breathing to hitch. A small blush began to develop on her cheeks. "W-what are you doing…?" she demanded despite knowing that he would not be able to answer.

Of course, with a lack of an answer, what he did next took her completely off guard. He leaned in slightly as if he were going to kiss her, but merely squeezed her hands firmly, smirking wider than he had done ever since he could remember. After a minute of silence, he took his hands off of her, allowing Kagome to gain control of her breathing.

She stared at him in shock. What was he intending to do? And why did she feel disappointed? It was impossible! He was her student! She should not expect anything to happen between them! Letting out a flustered groan, she decided to continue on with her daily lesson.

After teaching him a sixth of the katakana alphabet and making sure that he could mimic her movements, she decided that they could take a few minutes break seeing as he was beginning to lose his patience with her once more.

The teenager instructor sighed, rubbing her temples to try and prevent a headache from taking rest within her mind. She froze suddenly when she heard his breathing begin to get more heavy. Whirling around her head, she looked at him.

Inuyasha's face began to flush as if he were having a fever. His body twitched at random intervals as if he were having a seizure.

"Inu-Inuyasha…!" she gasped, rising from her kneeling position. "What's going on…?" she panicked. "What am I supposed to do…?!" She knew that whatever it was, he was not faking, nor was it normal. She sprinted to open the door and looked around the hallway, hoping to find some medical personal. "Help! Somebody!" Kagome hollered.

Glancing back at the man from the corner of her eye, she could tell that his convulsions were only getting worse. Spotting a wheelchair across from the room, she rushed to grab it and brought it to him. "I'm just going to have to take you to the bottom floor myself… We have no time to look around for doctors…" she rambled, pulling him from his chair and helping to push him into the wheelchair.

A sheen of sweat began developing on his forehead. When had this started? Why had she not noticed this earlier?! She cringed when she heard him beginning to growl from some obvious discomfort. Backing them out of the room, she sprinted fast enough to get near the elevator within minutes, but not moving fast enough to knock him out of the chair.

Something was horribly wrong with Inuyasha.

* * *

Sesshoumaru was busy with his normal schedule. Working. Dealing with dissatisfied customers, making sure that other customers were satisfied, keeping track of calls, signing papers, and other assorted business matters. 

Jaken stood by outside of Sesshoumaru's office, taking care of issues that his master did not want to bother with.

After a few more minutes of calls with multiple people, Jaken knocked on his door loudly, interrupting whatever call the business man was in the middle of finishing up and cutting thin his long thread of patience. Putting his hand over the receiver, the man snarled out, "What is it, Jaken?"

The old servant tottered in, evident fear etched on his face for angering the man he worked under. "Um…y-you have a visitor…" he stuttered out.

Letting out a breath, Sesshoumaru composed himself. "Tell whoever it is to wait for a few more minutes," he ordered in his monotonic voice.

"I don't think _she'll _wait…" Jaken croaked.

The man inwardly cringed. Why did he have the feeling that he knew who this particular woman was? The yelling of the person on the phone line cut off further lingering thoughts. Sesshoumaru spoke a few more words to the person on the other line, hurrying to hang up the phone.

Before another call could make the electronic device ring again, the man pulled the cord from the wall and began working on composing his inner self. To Jaken, Sesshoumaru was merely appearing to be wearing his familiar "mask" of ice as usual. "And when shall she arrive?" the young man demanded.

Jaken never had the chance to answer the question.

With a rather loud crash, an enraged woman stormed into his office, slamming the door shut behind her. "_You_ bastard!" she hissed, her eyes narrowed with rage.

"How dare you talk to Sesshoumaru-sama in such a rude tone!" Jaken shouted, taking offence to the woman's display of disrespect.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru called in his cold tone.

"Y-yes?"

"Leave," came the cool response.

"R-right away!" Jaken scurried out of the room, shutting the door behind him faster than if some mythological demon were on his heals.

Returning his full attention on the woman standing before him, Sesshoumaru asked, "And to what do I owe to this rather _pleasant_ greeting, Kagura?" It was meant to sound sarcastic, but coming from him made the sentence sound more menacing than anything else.

Kagura's scowl was kept in place. "I can't believe you!" she yelled. "I knew you were a bastard to begin with, but to do something like _that_?!"

"Would you like to explain what you mean?" the business man pondered in a bored tone.

"Don't take me for a fool," she spat. "You know _who _I'm talking about!"

Sesshoumaru was intrigued now. "And just who would that be?" Deep down, he had a feeling that he knew what she was getting to, but did not want to say anything if it were not the case.

"Your brother," Kagura said. "_Inuyasha_."

Yes, he was right on his hunch. Perhaps he should have taken Watanabe, after all? Despite not being as surprised inwardly, his eyes still changed into slivers of violet. What right did she have to snoop into his personal affairs? "And why should I take offence to your drabble about my personal issues?" he demanded in a calm manner.

"'Personal issues'?" she echoed in disgust. "He's your family, isn't he?! He's blind and you left him in a handicapped home by himself?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes became slits of ice. Rising slowly from his seat, he found it harder to suppress his rising fury. "And why would you have any business in my family affairs, Kagura? You know nothing about me besides the fact that I perform business with your father," he stated firmly.

"I know enough to know that you're about as bad as my bastard father is!" she threw back, her eyes narrowing even more so. "I went over there today and I saw him being dragged into a medical emergency room for having convulsions! I bet you don't even give a damn!"

Convulsions? Since when did Inuyasha have that? Despite pondering that thought, his ego was found to be bruised with her comparing him to Naraku. And for this bitch, he was not going to spill out his entire life's story to get her to listen to him. It was pointless. "You should not assume things that you do not even know of," he advised in a small growl.

"It's true that I don't know enough about you past to make assumptions," she bit out. "However, hating the only family you have left is a bit cold. Even for an icy bastard like yourself!" Her hazel eyes smoldered with rage that she had barely ever felt before. For some reason, she felt betrayed. Here was this calm, cool, and collected man that was a prominent employee in the Toyota company and yet he had all of this wrong with him! Not to mention that someone who she thought shared her dislike for Naraku was found out to be about as "bad" as her father!

He moved out from behind his desk. "You, of all people, have the audacity to criticize me?" With every word he forced out, the less control he had over his composure.

"And what is that supposed to mean?!" she snarled.

"I assumed that you were merely your father's messenger with many of your own family problems. Perhaps you should fix your own issues before accusing me of my own supposed 'crimes,'" he pointed out. "You seem so dissatisfied with your own life that you decide to snoop around in mine."

Her eye twitched multiple times. "You know what…?" she seethed. "Maybe I have my own problems, but I _never_ cast out my own kind! My family is fucked up, but I deal with it unlike _you_! You just decide to sit there behind your desk and pretend that your brother doesn't even exist!" She knew that she was affecting him in some way. Adding the fuel to the fire, she said cruelly, "And here I thought that you were a _man_. Turns out that you're more cowardly than I am!"

She would have said more, but within seconds, he appeared inches from her. His arms were on either side of her, pinning her against the wall she was now using as a forced form of support. "You call me _cowardly_?" he snarled in a low voice that sent shivers through her body. "Kagura, save me your petty insults. If I wanted to hear someone taunt me, I'll look to Naraku for that."

The guise in his burning gaze froze her stiff. Was what she feeling? Fear? "You are by far, the worst man I have ever met in my life!" she hissed, using all of her strength to shove at his body. However, to her distress, he did not even budge.

"Kagura, do not think about coming back here," he warned. "The next time you dare to carelessly pull off what you have already done, I will not go as easy on you." Pushing against the walls, he stood up straight, allowing her to move out from the cramped space.

The woman threw back an unladylike snort, glowering at him for all she was worth. "Don't worry. I would love nothing better than to ever see your face again." And with that, she stomped out of the office, slamming the large door shut behind her, managing to making a hanging picture on the adjacent wall fall off and shatter on the marbled floor.

Once she left, Sesshoumaru went back to his chair and sat down, bringing up his right hand to rub his temples, trying to calm the oncoming headache. Why of all people, was _Kagura_ the one to find out about his brother?

* * *

With Kagura

* * *

Kagura stormed past the shocked Jaken and other office personnel, not paying attention to any of them. She felt like crying with all of the emotions she felt at this point. How could Sesshoumaru be so _heartless_? 

When she finally reached outside of the building, she got into the black car that awaited her return, not noticing her brother, who went out of his way to pull open her door. When the vehicle drove away from the building, she tried her best to shut out her thoughts.

**

* * *

**

Flashback (NOT in Kagura's POV)

* * *

The day started out normal enough. Kagura woke up, got herself ready, and went to look for her brother. As she did so, she mentally thanked the Heavens that her father was at his office and that her younger siblings were attending school. 

She found Byakuya waiting for her in the front room of the residence. "I was wondering when you'd finally wake up," he half-joked.

The woman rolled her eyes at him. "Let's just go," she sighed, not feeling up to retaliating to his statement.

"As you wish, dear sister," he teased. Unlike Hakudoushi, the endearment rang more truthful than mocking. Pulling out the car keys from his pocket, Byakuya strolled out to one of the family's black imported European cars with Kagura in tow.

After the two made sure that the house was securely locked from the outside, they got into the vehicle. After Kagura's older brother started up the car, the two sped out of the property.

Resting her imported _Chanel_ handbag on her lap, Kagura nervously fiddled with the leather straps. She finally opened the purse and took out the business card that Mr. Watanabe gave her the day before.

Casting a look at his sister, Byakuya's violet-brown eyes glimmered with curiosity. "What's got you so worked up, Kagura?" He then quickly refocused his attention towards the road.

Glancing up at her brother, she raised her eyebrow. "I have no clue what you're talking about," she lied in a strange tone unlike her normal self.

Feeling a small smile tug at the ends of his mouth, Byakuya mentioned, "Oh, so this is about _Sesshoumaru_, isn't it? Since his relative is at this so-called handicapped hospital, you want to investigate. You want to find out more about the man you have feelings for."

She threw a defensive glare at him like she was caught doing something wrong. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't like him like that!" she huffed.

Byakuya laughed. "Now that's the Kagura I know," he commented.

Kagura only continued to glower at her brother out of frustration and embarrassment.

After good half-hour, the duo finally arrived at the office building. Like the card said, Mr. Watanabe's office was near Sesshoumaru's.

Walking by the large door that contained the cold man's work area, Kagura grew uncertain about what she was planning to do. She mentally shivered at what would happen if he were still in there working and decided to open the door to see her.

Byakuya saw her flinch and only smirked. Knowing where the American's office was, he knocked on the office entrance.

The door was opened, revealing a grinning Mr. Watanabe. "Oh! You've come, finally! You wouldn't believe how impatient I was growing."

"Our apologies," Byakuya replied politely. "I am Morikawa Kagura's older brother, Morikawa Byakuya. I have heard a bit about your dilemma and decided to help out my sister for this purpose."

The older man smiled. "Don't apologize. I'm just antsy since I haven't seen my boy in such a long time. I truly appreciate you and your sister's help." Spotting the young woman standing behind her brother, Mr. Watanabe greeted her.

"Shall we get going, then?" Kagura suggested.

"Of course," Mr. Watanabe responded, picking up a wrapped parcel and walking out of his office, locking the door shut behind him. He followed the siblings out to the car and got into it with them.

Throughout the entire ride, Kagura thought about what actions she was prepared to commit and the consequences that she could face. Did she really want to know why his relative lived within that hospital? She was nearly afraid of what she would find.

* * *

Upon arriving in the hospital, the front-desk nurse greeted them. 

"I've never seen you three around here before," the woman commented. On her name tag read the name, "Kusao Ringo."

"I am here to see my son," Mr. Watanabe spoke up, stepping in front of the Morikawa siblings. "My name is Watanabe Edward." Noticing the confused look the nurse gave him due to his odd name, he quickly explained, "I am merely of Japanese descendent."

"Ah," Ringo smiled. "You called here last week. I remember now." Calling out to another nurse, she asked the woman to take them to Edward's son's room.

The patient's room was on the fourth floor, causing the small group to take the elevator. Upon arriving in front of the white door, Edward appeared to be losing the calm expression he once upheld.

"Here you are, Watanabe Shippou's room," the woman said in a gentle tone, opening the entrance. "I will leave you all be for as long as you need. Please call for help if something goes wrong." She would have walked away, but heard a banging noise within the confines. "What the…?" she whispered, raising her eyebrow.

Stepping inside, the four people found a shocking scene unfold.

"Get away from me, you idiot!" came the yell of a panicked boy.

"What did I do?" replied an irritated man who was trying to help him take some type of medication.

"Hiten-san?" Ringo questioned, raising her eyebrow. After a few seconds of a continuing scuffle between the two, she demanded, "What's going on here?!"

When the two froze, the young handicapped boy had his fist against Hiten's cheek, apparently trying to punch him. It was honestly a comical sight any other time, but since it was reunion between father and son, it was hardly place for such actions.

"Shippou?" Edward called out in a stern voice.

Kagura glanced back and forth between Mr. Watanabe and his son and knew that the older man was upset.

"Why are you trying to hurt this man? He is a professional doctor! Show some discipline!" Shippou's father reprimanded.

The red-haired, green-eyed child, looked up at his father and instantly felt shame. He had not seen his father in so long and the long awaited reunion was the man scolding him. Still, it did not prevent him from making up excuses. "The guy didn't know how to give me my medication! He's trying to kill me! He's so annoying, too!"

Hiten tried his best to look professional, but found that he was failing miserably. Taking a deep breath of air as if dragging on a cigarette, the young doctor responded with, "I have no clue why you distrust me so much. All I was trying to do was give you a shot so that you would stay healthy. You were the one protesting."

Edward's eyes narrowed at his son. "Shippou, apologize."

Shippou crossed his arms stubbornly. "I don't know why I should. I'm surprised that this stupid imbecile got his license! He was giving me the shot in the wrong place!"

"_Now_." The voice was gaining more emotion with every word as if someone was turning up the volume on speakers.

"Fine…" Shippou mumbled. Narrowing his eyes, he growled out, "Sorry," in a tone that was obvious that he did not mean what he said.

Mr. Watanabe's disposition instantly lightened, flipping the internal switch of the mood. Smiling a bit, he turned towards a distraught Hiten and uttered an apology of his own.

The doctor accepted the request for forgiveness and exited the room in a hurry. Once he shut the door behind him and walked away, he outwardly cursed. Why did he have to get put with the idiots that wanted to hurt him?! What had he done to earn such treatment?

"So this is the son of Watanabe-san?" Kagura inquired, deciding to break the awkward silence that overtook all of them.

Byakuya, who was silent ever since he went into the hospital, commented. "For recently moving in this place, you seem to be making enemies fast…"

The young boy glanced at the two young adults that he had never seen in his life. "Who are you two?"

Before the two could break into the conversation, Edward cut in. "These are the kind people who escorted me here to see you, Shippou. These are members of the Morikawa family who are prominent customers of Yamaguchi Sesshoumaru," the man explained.

The boy nodded his head even though he barely knew who Sesshoumaru was.

Kagura and Byakuya gave Shippou identical smiles and said how privileged they felt by meeting him.

The young woman stared at the boy more closely and let the image sink in. From the waist up, the child appeared like any other normal boy. However, below the waist, Kagura could tell that he had a medical condition. The child's legs seemed shrunken and curved inwards appearing almost like small hooks. His feet could barely touch the footrests because of the way his legs were shaped. Kagura kept her shock to herself, for she did not want to make the father and son upset by gawking. The sight was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

This sight caused her to think back to Sesshoumaru's relative that supposedly lived in the same hospital. If the guy lived here most of his life, what was medically wrong with him?

The trio's conversation grabbed their attention when her brother called out her name. Blinking a few times and clearing her thoughts, she stupidly asked, "Huh?"

The men raised their eyebrows at her strange behavior. "What do you think about the United States?" Byakuya repeated.

Kagura blinked again. "Uh, sorry," she stuttered. "My mind was wandering." She then thought about the question and began to answer it based on what she remembered from going there once before. "Well, the last time my family went there, I was around five. There's not much I remember except palm trees and amusement parks. There were strange buildings and many fast food places…"

Mr. Watanabe and his son laughed. "You just described California and the rest of the country in a way," Edward explained. "Fast food chains."

The young woman tried to get in on the amusement by laughing a little, but still felt out of it. It was like she was a child laughing at an intelligent joke some old aristocrat made. She instinctively squeezed her purse out of nervousness. "Could you excuse me? I need to go to the restroom," she announced, turning to open the door and walking out.

The three men looked at each other in confusion. What had just happened?

* * *

Kagura's head was fogged up. What should she do? Should she go through with her plan? If Shippou had that condition, then what did Sesshoumaru's relative have? Did she even want to know? Why was it any of her business?

Upon walking down the hallway, she spotted a familiar face. It was the Hiten; the doctor from earlier.

"Excuse me, do you know where the nearest bathroom is?" she inquired.

The man knew that she was part of the group who went to see the frustrating patient he had problems with earlier. However, it did not stop him from being kind to the woman he never talked to previously. Flashing an innocent smile, Hiten offered to escort her to the seventh floor where the closest bathroom was located.

After the two exited the elevator, Hiten said, "Let me walk you to the door. It isn't safe to wander alone up on these floors. This is the floor where the most unstable ones reside…"

Kagura could not help the shiver that ran up her spine. Unstable? "T-thank you," she mumbled, following behind him. Forcing down a gulp, she questioned, "Why are they the most unstable?"

"The patients are often the sickest and most violent. They don't listen to orders most of the time," he explained, his eyes narrowing in remembrance of a _certain_ patient. "I try to avoid this floor unless I'm assigned here."

"Why? Did something happen to you?"

"More like some_one_," he replied bitterly. "A patient on this floor always attempts to injure me in some way when I try to work with him. He acts like his namesake."

"'Namesake'?" she echoed out of curiosity.

"Yamaguchi _Inuyasha_," he blurted out without thinking, his voice in a near growl.

Kagura stopped walking. "'Y-Yamaguchi'?" she repeated in a stuttering voice. Could that man truly be…?

Hiten rotated back around to see the woman in a state of bewilderment. "Oh, I'm very sorry about scaring you. If it pleases you, he's in his room and never leaves during the day."

"Oh…" she murmured. Deciding to be bold, she asked, "Is he related to a Yamaguchi Sesshoumaru?"

The doctor raised his eyebrow. "So, I'm supposing that you really came here to see Inuyasha-san?"

"Just answer my question, please."

Thinking back to the papers he once saw involving Inuyasha's history, he remembered seeing the name she pondered about. Without thinking, he answered her question. "Yes, if I remember correctly, this so-called Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's half-brother who took care of him for a bit…" After realizing what he had done, he narrowed his eyes a little and then demanded, "Are you a reporter or something? I cannot continue to give out information to someone I have never met before."

Kagura sighed. Pulling an ID card out of her purse, she handed it to him to inspect. "I am Morikawa Kagura; daughter of Morikawa Naraku. My father happens to do business with the Yamaguchi family. I'm merely doing research."

After glancing at the card and handing it back to her, he nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you too much information since it's classified. The information I already gave you was too much for me to say. I would risk my job continuing to do such things."

The woman exhaled noisily and nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry for troubling you. Thanks, anyways."

By this point, the two finally arrived at the door of the women's bathroom. Kagura thanked him again and went inside.

After stopping in front of the wide mirror and line of sinks, she placed her purse on the counter, along with her hands gripping the surface on either side of her. Letting out a deep shuddering breath, she began to reflect more deeply about what she was going to do. Should she go through with it? Why was it any of her business? The most troubling question of all was if she supposedly did not care about Sesshoumaru in _some_ sense, why was she working so hard to find out more information about the very same man?

"Get yourself together, Kagura," the young Morikawa daughter whispered to herself. "You worked too hard to turn back now…" Overall, it was her curiosity that placed a curtain over most of her doubts. She needed to find out about this "Inuyasha" person. After taking another deep breath and releasing it, she grabbed her handbag and walked towards the entrance door. Before she pushed it open, she heard loud commotion, followed by various panicked shouts.

"What the…?" Kagura questioned in shock. Pushing the door out quickly, she ran out only to see a woman hastening a man in a wheelchair to the elevator. It seemed that during this event, Dr. Hiten noticed and jumped in to offer his help after the two went into the elevator. "What's going on?!" she yelled, following the doctor and arriving in the spacious contraption with the rest of them.

"Please help Inuyasha!" the frantic woman begged.

The surprised visitor looked on to see the very man that Hiten was talking about only moments before! Glancing down at his convulsing body, she saw similar features on him that she saw only in Sesshoumaru. This was Sesshoumaru's brother without a doubt!

"When did he start acting like this, Kagome-san?" the doctor demanded, pressing buttons on the elevator for them to go down to the second floor. The floor was the area where they treated patients for emergency reasons.

"Just a few minutes ago. I was teaching him and then he started shaking and sweating like he was having a fever!" Kagome explained.

Kagura only watched on in silence as she took in the supposed teacher and pupil. Inuyasha was something else. He had the same violet eyes that Sesshoumaru had, but an added element was placed within them, giving off a wild appearance. Inuyasha's eyes were glazed over and never concentrated on the people talking over him. That was when she realized that the man was blind.

The young doctor took over controlling the wheelchair as all of the people ran out of the elevator and towards a vacant room. Throwing open the door, Hiten moved Inuyasha's body into the bed and began to look for medicine that would help his condition. "Morikawa-san, could you please go seek out Dr. Miroku? This is an emergency!"

Kagura was startled by the sudden request, but agreed to it, nonetheless. "Right!" she said, running out of the room as fast as she could with her heels. When little success came in her speed, she took off her shoes and placed them within her purse. She then broke out into a full sprint, shouting for the doctor's name.

The young woman proceeded to go to the first floor and found the man at last. She nearly ran into him at the rate of her blind speed.

"Uh…Miss, it's dangerous to run through these hallways," Miroku reprimanded, gripping Kagura by the shoulders before she could trip forward any farther.

Breathing out in short gasps, Kagura struggled to get out words. "I-Inu…yasha… needs…you…!" she garbled.

The doctor's eyes widened. "What happened to him?" he demanded, his tone suddenly serious. Who was this woman? A sudden visitor of his? In all of his years taking care of his violent patient, he had never seen this beautiful lady before. He would have brought it up in less serious situations, but knew that now was not the time. "Show me where he is!" the doctor then said to her, preparing to run.

"Follow…me…" she rasped, still trying to catch her breath as she turned to run once more.

The doctor grabbed a nearby medical cart before rushing behind her at a similar pace.

When the two arrived back at the room, they found that Inuyasha was unconscious. His chest was rising and falling at an unhealthy rate and sweat gleamed on his forehead.

His teacher sat beside him, grasping his hand and trying to relax him. Tears gleamed in her eyes. She silently prayed that he would not die. As the two out of breath people rushed into the room, she sharply turned around with a panicked look on her face. "Please help him, Miroku-sama!" she pleaded.

"I'll…do…what I…can," Miroku puffed out, quickly pulling on plastic gloves. He approached the bed and glanced up at Hiten. "Did you have anything to do with this?" he asked in a stern voice.

The doctor gave a disgusted expression as if he ate something with a horrible taste. "Why would you assume that I would have done something to him?!" His voice was painted with anger and his eyes narrowed.

The more experienced medical personnel shook his head. He would ask more questions after he helped out Inuyasha. After noticing all of his symptoms, he took out his stethoscope and placed the tubing around his neck and the ear tips to his ears. Placing the other end to Inuyasha's chest, he listened for his heartbeat. The doctor drew it away with wide eyes. "His heartbeat is too erratic. He's having an extremely severe case of anaphylaxis!" Looking down at Inuyasha's arm, he noticed an abnormal rash spreading around the area where a needle could have been inserted. Quickly staring back at the two women, he said, "Please leave the room and wait outside!"

The women heeded his instructions and exited the area quickly.

"Hiten! Get an oxygen mask and some beta-agonist solution hooked up!" Miroku then commanded, working fast.

The younger doctor nodded urgently and set to his task, running to get what was needed.

While that was being done, Miroku opened the young man's shirt. Taking out white circular patches and tubing, he hooked them up to Inuyasha's chest and the electrocardiograph on the platform next to the bed. Turning the machine on quickly, the doctor saw what he heard; the abnormal fast pace of Inuyasha's heartbeat. The electrocardiogram was moving rapidly.

After such precautions were placed on the patient, Miroku took out a syringe and needle, attaching the two and pulling out a small bottle of epinephrine. Taking the liquid substance into the syringe, he quickly injected the sterile needle into the rash-infected arm.

Inuyasha's body twitched slightly as the liquid was being placed within his bloodstream. The EKG machine showed that the sharp lines begin to regulate. His beats per minute dropped.

Dr. Hiten hurried in with the mask and substance that he was sent to get. Securing the oxygen mask around the unconscious man's mouth and nose and the fixing the tubing extending from the mask to the gas pumping machine, he turned the contraption on. The young man in the bed began to breathe in the gas, causing his chest to begin rising and falling at a slower speed.

Both men heaved a sigh. "That should do it…" Miroku breathed out, wiping sweat off of his brow. Staring down at Inuyasha, he noticed that he was still unconscious. Whirling around to face Hiten, his eyes narrowed slightly. "So, are you sure that you have no idea what caused this?"

"I'm certain that I never even went up to the seventh floor until I escorted that woman up to the bathroom. I would have had no time to inject any type of medicine in him. Not to mention, Kagome-san was there the whole time instructing him!" the other man defended.

"It didn't have to be that exact moment. Whatever type of cephalosporin-based injection he received could have been given that morning. It would have just taken this long for it to begin taking affect on his body. As we noticed, he is extremely allergic to the substance," Miroku explained. "Though, I am not accusing you of giving him such an unauthorized medication, you still would have some motive."

"What? Just because I don't like him automatically makes me the suspect of medical malpractice?!" the younger man yelled.

"No," Miroku sighed. "Please calm yourself around the patient, Hiten-san," he then advised. "It's not just you that dislikes Inuyasha; it's most of this hospital staff. The majority of them could have very well tried to kill him. If you or that kind woman hadn't been around to grab me or another doctor who was experienced with working with Inuyasha, he would have most likely died by now."

"How do you know that it wasn't just a misdiagnosis?"

The older doctor snorted in an unprofessional manner. "I am the only one authorized to administer medication to him. I would have never injected him with some underdeveloped medicine even if it was said to help cure him of his disorder. Someone else who knew what the substance was did this. I believe this was an attempted murder." Letting out a deep breath, he steadied himself against the railing of the hospital bed. "You can let the ladies inside, but do not mention any of this to them. I will call the police and let them know of this myself."

Hiten nodded shakily. He may have disliked Inuyasha, but he was not as stupid as to perform malpractice to off the guy! Watching Miroku leave, he let the two women back into the room.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, rushing to his bedside. A single tear trailed down her cheek. What could have happened to cause this? Who caused it? Was it an accident? She heard the doctors talking, but did not catch any of their muffled words. She did not pay attention to the perverted young doctor as he pushed his way out of the room.

Kagura's face was solemn as she stared at the man hooked up to various machines. As depression rose within her body from seeing the grieving woman in front of her, anger also rose. Her fists clenched into fists at her sides; her purse dropping to the floor with a sound thud. Where was Sesshoumaru? Did he even know of what was happening to his brother? Her dark-colored eyes narrowed as she thought about the situation more. However, she was so deep in thought that she did not notice Inuyasha's instructor looking at her.

"Thank you for helping…" Kagome murmured, forcing herself to smile even though she was scared and upset of what had transpired.

"Um…no problem…" Kagura answered hesitantly, gathering her wits. "What happened to him?" she then asked, diverting everyone's attention back to the slumbering man.

"He had a bad reaction to a medicine that was being administered," Hiten explained with a straight countenance.

Kagome's eyes widened. "That's it? A hospital would take risks as big as to give him an unsafe drug to try and help him?"

Hiten inwardly cursed. The woman was intelligent in observing things. Unfortunately, he had to keep on the cover-up as instructed. "In his case, yes. Medical science is not that far off in developing a cure for his condition. A doctor gave him a dosage of experimental medicine. However, it did not help him. It was trial and error."

The young woman's fists clenched around Inuyasha's bed sheets. "So you guys treated him like some kind of experiment?!" she murmured in a growl. Her voice held hidden threats of ensuing pain.

Kagura took a cautious step away from the emotional woman despite agreeing with her. "Um, Kagome-san…that was your name, right?" she said, grabbing Kagome's attention.

"Yes?" the teacher bit out, trying her best to remain calm.

"Even if that was true, look into this more once Inuyasha is well. Right now, you should support him fully…" Kagura advised.

It was Kagura's turn to be interrogated. "And who are you, anyways?" the girl demanded. Who did this girl think she was as to give her advise so openly? "I've never seen you before and I've been teaching him for a bit now. From what I know, he never gets visitors. You went out of your way to help him even though he's a supposed stranger to you."

The other young woman sighed. She had to tell some of the truth or else risk bad consequences. "I was here to drop off my father's business partner in order for him to reunite with his son. My father's name is Morikawa Naraku and he worked with Inuyasha's family."

"So you were in here to investigate Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, calming slightly.

"Well, in a sense…" Kagura admitted. Her fists balled up as she remembered what Kagome had just said. "So, I'm taking it that Inuyasha is never visited by members of his family, either?"

"Not that I know of."

"That's all I needed to know…" the irritated woman replied, feeling inwardly disgusted. Her eyes flashed rage. She was beginning to look forward to a future conversation with Sesshoumaru. "With that answered, I will leave." Casting a look at Inuyasha, she felt more nauseated. "Kagome-san, please accept my apologies. I'm not sure if I'll ever come back here. I have some unfinished business to take care of. I hope that your student gets better soon." She bowed slightly out of respect, picked up her purse, and exited out of the room before Kagome could say anything else.

* * *

Kagura placed her shoes back on and went back up to Shippou's room, emotions of anger, sadness, and disgust whirling around in her eyes and heart. "That cruel bastard…" she whispered like a mantra, referring to a certain businessman.

Approaching the door and slamming it open, she glared at her brother in an unintended way. "I want to leave. _Now_," she bit out.

Byakuya raised his eyebrow. Why had she taken so long to use the bathroom? Did she even go to use the restroom at all? Why did his sister look so shaken? It was an part of Kagura he had never witnessed before. "Kagura…? What happened?" he asked in a concerned manner.

Instead of answering him, Byakuya's younger sister turned to face Mr. Watanabe. "Watanabe-san, if you wish to stay here, could you find a way to get back to your office on your own?"

Edward appeared startled, but nodded. "I think I'll be able to manage. Will you be alright?" He could also tell that something rattled her.

"I'm not exactly sure," she confessed in all honesty. "I apologize for this sudden change of plans, but I do not think I can remain in this place for much longer."

The two men began to understand her feelings. "Alright," Edward said, forcing a calming smile. "I thank you for your kindness and hope you have a safe trip back."

"Thank you," Kagura replied. Acknowledging the boy beside him, she released a breath and forced her own smirk. "I hope to see you sometime soon. I apologize for my rudeness."

Shippou only lifted his eyebrow and blurted out, "You look like you just ran from a pack of demons."

"You could say that…" the woman breathed out.

"For my sister's comfort, we will leave immediately. We hope to see you both some other time," Byakuya added in.

"Likewise," the older man responded while the three exchanged bows.

The siblings quickly walked out of the room and the hospital. After the pair found the car and got in, Kagura let out a harsh breath. "I saw _him_," she explained.

"Oh?" Byakuya said, his tone reflecting interest. "And why would that freak you out?"

"Someone picked the same day to give him a medicine that made him nearly die. I had to help get the doctor so he would survive."

"And…?" he pressed as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"And he's blind among other problems I don't know of yet. I doubt I'll ever want to find out, either."

"Though, did you get what you came here for?"

"I think I got more than I ever wanted to experience…." Kagura murmured in a growl. "I want you to drive us over to Sesshoumaru's office. I want to give that unforgivable bastard a piece of my mind!"

"Okay…" her older brother replied in a confused manner. Whatever Sesshoumaru did was something that was atrocious. That was one thing that he was sure of.

**

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End Flashback 

* * *

Kagura's fists clenched for what seemed like the hundredth time that day when she thought back to the events that happened earlier that day. She silently vowed to never speak to Sesshoumaru again. He could rot in Hell for all she cared.

* * *

A/N: YES! I'm finally done! I apologize in advance for any grammar errors. I haven't had my beta around to check over half of this chapter. 

I hope this extra long chapter (this is twice as long as my usual) will help make up for the long wait. I'll try my best to never make you wait this long again! See?! I didn't give up on this fic!

For the whole Inuyasha allergic situation, I wasn't making up anything medical. I researched anaphylaxis and it is an allergic reaction to either penicillin or cephalosporin antibiotics. Usual symptoms are rashes, shortness of breath, and most of the other symptoms that Inuyasha showed. This type of allergic reaction can mean death. To treat anaphylaxis, you give the victim epinephrine and inhaled beta-agonists. Please don't expect me to explain all of the properties of these substances. It will take too much time and most likely not even matter to any of you readers. I just typed this to explain what anaphylaxis is.

If you really want to know more about the conditions, research it yourself. I'd much rather not want to give a biology report within Inuyasha fan fiction.

Don't worry _much_, Sesshoumaru and Kagura fans! I'm definitely not done with them yet!

Oh, and for a spoiler for the next chapter, a certain little girl shall arrive!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	9. Rescue

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: I hope that you enjoyed the last chapter even though a lot of bad things happened!

Kagura: I'll say…

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Even though the other Inuyasha annoys me, that was still cruel… -glares at turtlequeen2-

Turtlequeen2: -lets out nervous laughter- Don't worry! He won't die!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: He better not… He's not that bad of a copy…

Turtlequeen2: -appears shock- You really like him?! How cute!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! -turns away-

Kagura: -rolls her eyes- How stupid…

Turtlequeen2: Hey! Miss snoopy is one to talk! -shrinks back when Kagura glares at her- Uh…right… the review thanks… -runs off-

I would like to thank the following reviewers: kagome past and present, Kayla-Booh16, Hearii, angel-kamui, K. Higurashi, Du Weldenvarden Farcai, waldie, xCharlie-Groupiex, Panther Fire, Empress Ran, Hatake Kai, iluvtheevilones, and JSinuYasha!

I want to give shout-outs to kagome past and present and xCharlie-Groupiex for taking the time to review every chapter at one time!

Empress Ran: Your theory is a great one! In fact, that was my first plan, but then I decided against it… The real cause for Inuyasha's allergy will come about in this chapter! Sort of…

Inuyasha is owned by the one and only Rumiko Takahashi. I only have permission to torture her characters. -cough-

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8**

**Rescue**

A day had passed since Inuyasha's sudden near-death experience. Kagome was still thoroughly confused on what happened to him. What Dr. Hiten told her did not match up at all. Why did a doctor give him an experimental medicine? Why did Hiten appear so troubled and difficult when he told her the supposed truth? Miroku left so suddenly with an intent look on his face. Had something worse happened to Inuyasha?

A horrible thought came to mind. Perhaps he was supposed to die? Someone was trying to kill him! The frightening conclusion made her gasp, her brown eyes wide. Eyes turned to stare at her out of curiosity because of her loud outburst.

Nervous laughter escaped her mouth as she attempted to wave attention away from herself. She was riding the Shinkansen, heading towards where her main student resided. Luckily, most of the men and women were business people; on their way to work like herself. They were quick to mind themselves once more.

Knowing that Inuyasha was not yet back to his normal self, she decided to go without her usual teaching kit. Today, she was merely a visitor. Heaving a sigh, she got off on her stop and proceeded to get to the hospital.

After greeting Ringo at the welcome desk, Kagome went straight towards where Inuyasha rested. He remained in the same room as the previous day only because Dr. Miroku was afraid to agitate his reactions by moving his body.

With the constant beep of the electrocardiogram and the steady breathing patterns the young man gave off into his gas mask, Kagome was lured in by a trance. Shutting the door behind her, she pulled up a chair and sat beside his bed.

"Inuyasha…" she murmured, grabbing his nearest hand which laid limply at his side. "I hope you wake up soon…" Kagome knew that the remedy given should have to take an entire night to completely flush out the bad medicine. However, it had went over that time and he still did not wake up. She was worried.

"Kagome-sama," came a whisper of concern from the doctor she wanted most to speak to. "Don't worry too much. His recovery is going smoothly. He'll make it."

She idly wondered how he managed to sneak in without her knowing, but refrained from asking him. "Miroku-sama," Kagome said, turning around to see the doctor flashing concerned eyes at her while taking her hand away from Inuyasha's at the same time. "I wanted to ask you some questions…"

"Regarding Inuyasha, I'm assuming…?" he questioned. He figured that she would be curious sooner or later.

"Yes," she answered. "I don't think that Hiten-san was telling the truth yesterday. Something horrible was done to Inuyasha. I just know it…" She glanced away from the doctor's eyes, feeling them beginning to build up tears.

Miroku pulled up a chair to sit across from her. He watched as her hand hesitantly drew away from his patient's. He sighed, trying to think of a good way to confirm her suspicions. "Kagome-sama…you are not completely wrong in your suspicions. However, it is a matter I cannot speak of. It is Inuyasha's personal record and doctors cannot tell non-family members such details…"

Kagome sighed. She should have known. Another question came to mind. "So won't you tell his other family members? I remember that Kagura woman mentioned something about a brother of his…"

The young man's eyes narrowed. "Telling that man would be impossible…" he murmured in a hardened voice.

Pushing back tears, the teacher grew curious. Kagura looked disgusted at the mention of Inuyasha's family members not being around and then Miroku grew bitter at the notion of telling other members of family such bad news. It was obvious that his family was not the best supporters of his condition. "So, his family abandoned him?"

"…No, just _him_," the doctor admitted. He shook his head, rising up from his seat. "I have spoken more than I should have. I must attend to other patients. If you need any help, please press the button above his bed in order to alert the staff," he explained. Bowing slightly, he turned and left her dumbstruck.

Who was "him"? Was it Inuyasha's brother? That was the only person she could think of. She pondered on such thoughts for the next hour while watching for her student's recovery.

Kagome appeared more distraught as another hour passed. As time continued on, she wanted to know more and more about Inuyasha's secretive past. What was so tragic about him besides his condition? And why did anyone not speak of his parents? Were they even alive? Her thoughts suddenly ceased when she heard a sound.

She watched Inuyasha's sleeping face as she pondered the thoughts. Her hand tentatively found his limp hand once again. When would he wake up?

As if answering her question, a light shock ran through her body. Or rather…_his_.

The man's hand grasped hers and squeezed back in a comforting and desperate fashion. It seemed like he knew that she was there with him. Moments later, non-seeing eyes blinked open, not squinting at the bright lights despite them blaring over him.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted happily. She went to hug him but stopped short. She did not want to cause any future injuries since he still appeared weak. In a calmer voice, she spoke his name again. She silently wished that he could have verbally responded. Instead of not saying anything more, she took his palm and finger-signed her name on it just so she could assure him that it was her.

Inuyasha grabbed his gas mask and pulled it off. It was hindering his sense of smell. He was instantly overwhelmed by the scent of his teacher. He groaned an incomprehensible noise and felt her fingers dance across his palm. He turned his face in her direction as he tried his best to sit up. He was surprised that she was here with him.

Why would she visit him? Unless she was here to teach him? That did not sound right since he was not in his right state of mind yesterday. He barely remembered any of the events that took place the day before. All he knew was that he felt painful sensations and shook many times before falling into an abyss.

Despite that knowledge, waking up at the moment and knowing that there was a gas mask covering his mouth and nose told him that he was indeed knocked out of consciousness. How long had the girl been by his side? It was the first time that he could remember when someone actually sat by him when he had strange medical incidents happen. He knew that it was not the first incident when something went wrong with him and would most likely not be the last. He stopped his broken thoughts when he caught a scent that he found to hate.

Salt.

He smelt the stinging realization of tears. What was more was that they were not his tears, but hers. He knew well enough that she was crying. But for what reason? Surely it was not for him? He never seemed deserving enough for tears.

"Inuyasha… I was so scared for you…" Kagome whispered while she wept. One of her glistening pearls dripped onto his hand.

The young man drew back his hand as if he had been stung. Emotions swept through him. Some were ones he had never felt before. Guilt. Sorrow. Frustration. For some reason, he wished more in his life than ever to be able to have the ability to communicate with others. Perhaps more specifically just to communicate with _her_.

Kagome was shocked by his sudden movement and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry… I must have frightened you."

The student made the inner pledge to learn how to communicate. He would do anything in his power to ensure that he would never have to smell her tears again. He never wanted to worry anyone. It was not in his nature to desire anyone to pity him. He learned to deal with his medical problems alone. Bringing in other people that were not regular hospital staff was something he wanted to avoid.

Kagome raised her eyebrow. His facial expressions kept fluctuating from worry to resolution. "What is he thinking…?" she questioned aloud. Her crying was beginning to stop.

He knew that he made her worried by his fast movements when he pulled away from her. Half-knowing that her arm was still on his bed, he gripped it, pulling her closer to him. He tried his best to remember the various words she had taught him and signed her name into her palm once he had managed to silently tell her to reveal it to him.

One of the hiragana characters was off, but she managed to understand him well enough. She was still getting over the fact that he actually used force on her. Did he really care about her emotions that much? "What are you trying to tell me by signing my name? Do you just want my attention?" she murmured in question.

Of course, he could not hear her. He pulled her closer to him, jerking her arm forward again. With his free hand, he reached for her face.

For once, she was thankful that he was blind. Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. "I-Inuyasha…" she squeaked out when his fingers stroked her chin and worked their way up her right cheek.

He could feel the different parts of her face and knew what he was trying to do. Using his thumb, he flicked away any lingering salty liquid. He did the actions on the other side of her face.

As he performed the movements, she sat stunned. She was mortified and blushed a deep cherry-red. "Oh no! Usually after a guy does this to a girl, they…!" she breathed out, not wanting to finish the sentence. She did not want to think about what he could do next.

He sensed her tense up but did not cease in his goal. Based on the structure of her face to his hands, he knew that she had to have been beautiful. He felt his face grow warm and had the abrupt thought of not wanting her to see him in such a state. He pulled his hand back slowly, turning his face away from her so that she could not see his embarrassment. It was the first time he experienced such an emotion so strongly.

When he whirled away from her, she let out a sigh. Whether it was from disappointment or frustration, she did not know. What exactly did she expect him to do? She did not even know the guy completely! Still, the feeling that something was left out remained.

Once Inuyasha knew that his blush was put under control, he faced her. He knew by her tense state that she experienced the same emotions he did.

"What's happening to me…?" Kagome muttered aloud. She acted as if she were losing her mind. It was only the second week and already she was attaching herself to him! She sucked in a breath and let it out in a loud huff.

He knew that the atmosphere between them was only growing more tense by the minute so he did the only thing he could do. "Keh!" he snorted, trying to brush off his previous feelings. After a few moments of difficulty, he managed to cross his arms as if to tell her that he was doing fine.

The teacher could not help but smile at such a sight. He always appeared to be so cocky when he was in high spirits. "What am I going to do with you…?" she laughed, feeling as if she had not shed a single tear the while ago.

The light mood was quickly interrupted when the door creaked open, revealing a small boy in a wheelchair. His green eyes glanced around the room frantically until they settled on Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Damn…" the boy growled. "This room's taken, too…"

Kagome's eyebrow raised at the young voice. She would have turned around to glare at the person who ruined the time the pair had together but stopped short once she had given him the look over. Instead, she her expression read confusion when she finally faced the child. "What are you trying to do…?" Kagome questioned before stopping herself.

The kid peered out into the narrow hallways and then decided to go all the way into the room. He shut and locked the door behind him. For some reason, he felt as if he could trust the young woman. "Well, you could just say that I'm playing hide and seek and the doctors are 'it,'" he explained with a playful smirk.

Rolling his wheelchair into the middle of the room caused his red hair to rustle with him. The overall appearance made him seem like a mischievous troublemaker.

The teacher withheld her urge to groan. Why did she have to deal with troublemakers? First it was Inuyasha and now this child? Instead of saying that out loud, she asked, "Why are you hiding from the doctors? Aren't they just trying to help you?"

The boy snorted rudely. "Yeah, right!" he exclaimed. "I hate most doctors and then when I transferred here, I met the worst of them all!"

"The worst…?"

"This bastard named Hiten!"

Kagome could not help the small snicker that arose from the sudden declaration. "Trust me, I've seen enough of his antics. He tries his best to treat this guy here," she explained, patting the bed beside her. "You could say that Inuyasha is just as spiteful or more so towards him than you must be."

Sensing the vibrations on the bed, Inuyasha concentrated on the strange new scent. It must have been some person that had never come onto his floor. Smelling oil and polish led him to believe that the person was either in a wheelchair or relying on some other means to get around. Why was the person in here? He let a small growl slip through before he could control himself.

The child raised his eyebrow. "The guy sure behaves like his namesake. Is he half-dog or something?"

Kagome did not know if he was trying to insult her student. "Of course not!" she answered, letting out a small laugh. Rotating herself, she tapped the young man on the shoulder in a hard fashion, attempting to get him to stop snarling. When Inuyasha finally let up, she sighed.

"Either way, his parents must have hated him when they named him…" the kid retorted.

Wanting to change the subject away from Inuyasha, Kagome asked, "What's your name?"

"Watanabe Shippou," the child answered suspiciously. "Who wants to know?"

"I do," she said. "My name is Higurashi Kagome." Adding a cheerful expression to her face, she questioned, "So, how long are you planning to hide out here?"

"As long as I'm allowed to…" Shippou admitted. "I'm not going to leave if I don't have to…"

"That's fine with me," she smiled. "Though, we're not doing much of anything in here…"

"Thank you for being so nice to me…" the youthful boy said. "Not many people see me for myself. They only really see my wheelchair…"

The woman's eyes softened. The poor boy. He was so young and alone here by himself. Was this how Inuyasha was when he first came here? The thought almost made her tear up.

Shippou raised his eyebrow at Kagome's odd response. She looked like she was about to cry. "Hey! Don't get upset on my account!" he exclaimed. "I can take care of myself, you know!" He forced a confident grin to come to his face. "Besides, I made a new friend here, right?"

"Right," she answered, blinking rapidly to avoid tears from falling. She did not want her student to get anymore ideas. "Shippou-chan!"

He smiled at the friendly honorific. Casting a glance at the man who sat behind her so silently, he asked, "So is he a patient here, too?"

"Yes," she replied. "From what I know, he's been at this place for a long time."

"What's wrong with him?" He sounded curious.

"He suffers from a rare disorder. It robbed him of his hearing and sight."

"Oh…" Shippou could not imagine being blind and deaf! Not being able to walk was bad enough! "How long have you known him for?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions…" Kagome acknowledged.

"I kinda have to. It's in my contract as an annoying brat," he commented.

She giggled at that statement. "I'm his teacher. I've only known him for about a week."

"And you already seem so close to him!" he gasped in a mocking manner.

She raised her eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"

"I wouldn't know unless you were planning to kiss him soon!" he joked.

Before she could stop it, a blush dusted her cheeks. She shook her head. "N-no way!" she denied.

He laughed. "Your embarrassment isn't helping you any," he pointed out.

It was bad when a kid pointed out the obvious. Kagome tried her best to control her emotions and let out a deep breath.

Suddenly, noisy banging was coming from the door. Angry shouting soon followed.

"Shippou!"

"We know that you're in here!"

"Eep!" the boy panicked. "I need to hide somewhere else!" He glanced at her, hoping that she would help him out.

Kagome pondered for a moment and came up with a fast idea. Lightly touching Inuyasha's arm to signify her leaving his side, she glided over to Shippou's wheelchair and pushed him into the back bathroom. She shushed him when he made small noises of surprise. Neither person noticed Inuyasha's rising irritation at being ignored.

"Stay put and be silent for a bit," she chided. She pushed him farther into the small inner room and shut the door so that both of them remained in there.

Just at that moment, the door was unlocked from the outside. At least two male doctors stepped into the room, whispering in harsh tones.

One decided to call out in a soothing voice. "I know you're in here, Shippou! We're not here to harm you…"

Kagome glanced back at Shippou and saw his scowl. He did not believe their words.

Letting out a breath, the instructor called out. "Hey, me and Inuyasha are the only ones in here at the moment… You probably already woke him from his sleep. I just finished using the bathroom when you barged in here…" Turning off the lights, she creaked open the door slightly so that she could get out but not let the doctors see inside. Giving them an innocent smile, she asked, "Who are you looking for? I'll be glad to help you in any way that I could."

"Ah! Kagome-san!" came a familiar voice. Out of the two men in there, one of them was of course, Hiten.

"Oh, so you're here!" she acknowledged. "I didn't notice… Please forgive me."

"Oh no, it's nothing…" he said. Seeing that Inuyasha was wide awake and growling made Hiten take a step back. Why did he have to come in here when the guy was active?

Kagome could tell Hiten's unease around Inuyasha and could not help but think back to Shippou's remarks from earlier. "So…who's missing?" she pressed.

"This boy named Shippou," the other professional explained. "He uses a wheelchair to get around, but it doesn't ever suppress his urge to go explore the hospital like a normal child would. He can be very troublesome since he decides to leave during moments when we really need him around."

"I take it that this has happened before?" she inquired.

"More than once. It's only been a few days since he's been admitted here…" Hiten added. "Anyways, we have to get back to looking. It's obvious that he's not in this room."

After both men left the room, Kagome closed the door and let out a small laugh. She opened the bathroom door and flicked on the light switch. "So, how was that?"

Shippou snickered. "You're really good at playing hide and seek," he commented. His laugh stopped short when he heard a familiar growl come again. Rolling himself out of the smaller room, he looked at Inuyasha. "I guess he's jealous, eh?"

"I'm not really sure…" she confessed, not wanting to take jealousy into consideration. "He does it when he's ignored. I think he just feels lonely since he can't communicate with others yet…"

"You sure about that? He's doing a pretty good job of it now!" the boy exclaimed.

The girl sighed. "Unfortunately, growling is his only way of communicating at the moment. He's just naturally violent, I guess." After pausing for a moment, she added, "Perhaps I shouldn't tell you any more… I don't think I was supposed to tell you some of his issues already."

"Aww…" the child pouted as if she had stopped telling him a bedtime story. "Well… it's about time I leave here… They might come back around later!" After Shippou announced that, he added, "It was very nice to meet you, Kagome! You're my first friend here!"

She was surprised that he made such claims so easily. "Okay, then… Be careful!" she warned. "I hope to see you the next time I come."

"Yeah, then maybe we can play more hide and seek!" he exclaimed with a wicked grin on his face. She walked ahead of him to open the heavy door and let him out.

Once Shippou had left the area, she faced the impatient Inuyasha. "I'm sorry…" she said yet again to him. "I should really pay more attention to you when others are around…" She knew that she had to try harder to teach him how to communicate. If she could understand his feelings, she would make sure that he was the center of most of her attention. She paced over to him and patted his arm.

To her shock, he jerked away from her. He let out another angry growl and tried his best to "glare" at her. He was getting fed up with her constantly disregarding him. He understood that she had to keep the others company and that he could not yet talk back to her, but whenever she had someone else in the room with her, it was as if he was part of the wallpaper. She acted like everyone else did around him. Since he was not able to communicate, he was just ignored.

However, what he did not understand was the entire range of circumstances. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Kagome did not understand how badly it was bothering him. She only knew that he was upset because she was talking with Shippou. It was mainly the point that she was not yet completely used to the fact that he could not hear nor see. All of her previous students could do one or the other. She wanted to avoid making him feel bad but knew that it was already too late.

"I'm really sorry, Inuyasha…" she sighed, reaching out to him again.

He could sense her nearing towards him and he drew back even more. He reached behind him and picked up the pillow he rested his head on. He could not think of any other way to show his pain. He gripped the pillow and threw it in her direction.

Luckily, pillows did not hurt so it had little effect on her physically. She was able to grab onto the item and back away from him.

"And here I thought you got over your violent throwing things phase…" she mumbled sarcastically. Unlike last week's reaction from her, she felt inwardly pained. She knew that it was her own doing. "It's obvious that you want me to leave… I understand that much…"

Placing the chair back where she found it, Kagome left the pillow on the stand next to the bed. Glancing at the man one last time, she knew that she would get little sleep for the night. She made her way to the door and stepped out into the hallway, shutting the steel behind her. When a nurse walked by, she notified her of Inuyasha and that her visitation was over.

Inuyasha sat in the darkness of his own mind. He paid no attention to what went on around him. He knew that Kagome had left as he wanted… Or did he want that in the first place? He seemed even more miserable than he thought he would be. He was not yet used to sharing time with a person he could stand being around. Though he hated to admit it, he was slightly jealous.

He felt guilt, betrayal, and anger. He felt as if she tricked him to believe that she was not like the others who looked after him before. Was he truly fooled? He hoped not. He was not sure if his heart could take that cruel truth.

He had only the next day to find out.

**

* * *

**

**With Sesshoumaru****

* * *

**

Ever since a certain fiery woman stormed out of his office, Sesshoumaru could not stop thinking about her. Of course it was not guilt. He never experienced such an emotion. Or at least, he did not remember when he last felt remorse…

Everything about Kagura pissed him off. She was annoying, nosy, and needy. Everything he _never_ wanted to see in a woman. If all of this was true, then why did her presence intrigue him? Surely she was just an object of observation? She was just the mere daughter of his business client, right?

Sesshoumaru was currently closing up his office for the evening. It was not as if he could concentrate solely on his work when her face broke through his thoughts anyways. Deciding against riding in a car, he told Jaken to escort himself back to his home.

After he rode the elevator in the lavish building down to the bottom floor, he made his way outside, inwardly enjoying the jolting coldness of the night. Placing his hands in his black coat pockets, he began making his way to the nearest Shinkansen station. He thought that the walk would give him enough time to think in peace.

Pacing down the deserted sidewalk for several minutes made him acknowledge that the side of Tokyo he was in was not the best area to be in at night. Ah, well. It did not matter much to him.

Letting out a small, visible puff of air made it obvious to him that it was colder than he first imagined. Still, somehow, his thoughts gradually returned to Kagura.

How much did that woman truly know about his history? The more he thought about it, the more he knew how dangerous it would be for her to expose such stories to the news. Not only would he suffer from such an act, but so would his brother. Not that he cared much for his younger sibling…

Though, for some odd reason, he did not think Kagura was capable of doing such a thing. She may have seemed tough on the outside, but truly, she was very vulnerable. His thoughts suddenly halted to a stop when he heard a loud scream.

He raised his eyebrow, but thought little of it and continued on at a normal pace. He was already nearing the station.

The scream was heard again. It sounded like a young child's voice. A young girl's voice to be more specific. It was coming from across the street he was walking beside. For some reason, it nagged at him. He could either risk doing something completely reckless or just ignore it altogether.

The cries turned into words. Other, deeper voices clashed with the child's.

"Help me! Please!" the girl begged. Her voice traveled to his ears and he found it harder to leave her at whoever's mercy.

_"Mommy! Daddy!"_

Upon hearing those words, Sesshoumaru made up his mind. He may have come to regret it later, but he knew that it would not settle well within his conscious if he just left it be. He silently cursed as he followed the sound of yelling to a narrow alleyway.

Pictures of a more innocent time flashed through the man's conscious.

**

* * *

**

**Flashback**

**

* * *

**

At the young age of nine, Sesshoumaru always fought with his younger brother for the attention of his parents. Inwardly, he knew that he was growing into the age of which he had to begin taking care of himself, but he was still stubborn and desired to continue being in the limelight of his parents.

Before Inuyasha came along, he knew that he was object of his parent's affection.

At the time, Sesshoumaru was reading a book for his primary school. He glanced up from his reading when he heard a familiar cry.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

The stumbling three-year-old toddler waddled over to his mother and father, reaching up with outstretched arms. Tears streamed down the boy's face.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" asked Izayoi, concern etched on her countenance. "Did you hurt yourself again?"

Touga looked up from his laptop. Before Inuyasha came into the room, he was working on his latest job project. He forced a comforting smile despite being tired. "Did our boy trip over his toys again?" he chuckled.

The parents turned towards the child, appearing eager to comfort him.

Innocent, violet eyes twinkled with the gloss of tears. His black hair was cut neat and short so that the tresses could be tucked behind his ears. He directed their attention down to his knee which was bruised and scratched from the usual stumble and fall. "I fell…" he murmured.

"Oh, Inuyasha," Izayoi cooed, picking up the toddler and holding him to her chest. She then placed him on her knee, sending her husband off to get the band-aids and rubbing alcohol.

Some minutes and more crying afterwards, the boy was ready to play again.

Sesshoumaru watched the entire scene and felt the smallest amounts of irritation and jealously for being ignored. He secretly wished to be in his brother's place at that moment. He knew nothing of the future pains he and his brother would have to endure. He only acted as the innocent older brother should have reacted from such a sight.

**

* * *

**

**End Flashback**

**

* * *

**

It had been quite a while since Sesshoumaru even bothered to remember that there was a time when Inuyasha had a voice.

Now, he had little time to ponder on such sentiments. He was busy behaving like a fool to help some unfamiliar child in order to quiet his inner thoughts and wipe away his memories. He cursed himself again when he heard the sounds of a thug striking the girl in attempts to silence her.

Picking up a sharp rock from the street's gutter, the business man clutched it roughly. With quick precision, he was able to locate his prey.

The idiots did not even notice his presence even when he was mere feet away from their location. Sesshoumaru aimed the rock and threw it with power. It was able to strike one man in the center of the back of his head, affectively knocking him unconscious.

Sesshoumaru watched with inward satisfaction as the crook fell onto the dirty ground, laying still. Taking a few steps closer to the scene, he knew that his prey stood no chance against him. "Perhaps you weaklings should pick fights with those of the higher class…?" he spoke in a cold voice, talking down on the fact that four men would dare bully a lone girl. It was revolting.

The three remaining men whirled around to glare at the person who dared interfered with their work.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the one holding the girl demanded. His hold around her arm lessoned, but evidence of harming her remained on his bloody hands. "You should mind your own business!"

"Do you wanna die, bastard?!" an older man yelled in rage.

The third man scowled in silence. His only reaction was to pull out a makeshift knife.

If rolling his eyes were in his normal range of emotions, Sesshoumaru would have done so by this point.

All of the men looked as if they were homeless. Their clothes were tattered rags, but what made them stand out was the crimson stains all over their faces and hands. The oldest man still conscious had striking green eyes and brown hair, reflective of the street lights. The other two had the classic Japanese set of brown eyes over black hair.

"Stand down or I will be forced to act. You will not like the results," Sesshoumaru warned. He quickly glanced over to see if the girl was still active. To his dismay, the frail girl did not seem to be moving. She was knocked out cold.

"Ha! You're outnumbered! There's no chance you'll kill all three of us!" the one with the knife scoffed.

"No one said anything about having to kill you fools," the business man stated calmly. He waited for their charge.

"Let's get him, Yoshi and Takeshi! This will teach you not to mess with the Toshida Gang!" came the cry of the oldest member.

Sesshoumaru scanned his enemies with the impression of doing calculations at his office. It did not matter the current actions; both still bored and annoyed him. When the first of the three—Yoshi—reached him, he quickly kneed him in the gut, leaving him staggering.

Takeshi reached him second, having his body flipped over Sesshoumaru's back and landing harshly on the sidewalk. The audible cracking of bones were heard upon impact.

The older of the three came at him seconds later, finding himself falling after several punches to the face. Blood spurted out of the obvious broken nose as he fell to his knees, attempting to nurse his wound.

The staggering thug rose up slowly, beginning to recover. "You bastard!" he cried, pulling out a knife of his own and running recklessly forwards out of blind rage. "You'll pay for this!"

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow at the declaration. He grabbed the weapon-wielding arm and gripped it harshly. The irony of it all was that this was same guy who took to holding onto the girl in the first place. "Perhaps you should learn to not maintain a hold on such things that are more worthy than yourselves?" the young man murmured in a deadly tone as he twisted in an abrupt move. Bones cracked and the gang member cried out in pain. It was not long before the business man felt a stinging of his own. He lessoned his hold, allowing the injured thug to break free.

To his discomfort and annoyance, the supposed leader of the group with the broken nose managed to take out a weapon of his own and sliced through his coat and arm while he was busy taking care of the other male. A long gash was visible down his left arm. Sesshoumaru did well not to show the fact that it caused soreness to him.

The girl's savior roundhouse-kicked the annoyance to the street curb, affectively knocking him unconscious. Turning to Yoshi, he called out, "Get you and your men out of my sight before I decide to do something much more drastic." The icy look in his eyes told the coward that he meant what he said.

The assailant nodded vigorously, the fear displayed in his wild eyes. "R-right away!" he answered, holding his injury.

Sesshoumaru rotated himself so that he could face the motionless child. Gliding forward at a leisurely pace, he picked up the girl and carried her in his arms, not bothering to cringe when agony shot up his sliced arm. He tried his best to make sure that his blood did not end up on the victim.

He was fast to notice that there were cuts along the side of her face and that her ankles were swollen. Her lips appeared bruised and her eyes were no exception to the torture she must have been put through before he came along.

Walking away from the gang, he cursed aloud. He knew that he was already late for the scheduled Shinkansen he wanted to take. Now he would have to wait at least an hour longer for the last stop. Why did he bother with such trivial matters? The wounded girl would just cause unwanted attention to go to him. He was silently thankful that not many people took the Shinkansen past sundown.

He saw the subtle rise and fall of her chest and knew that she was still alive.

She whispered in her slumber.

"Mommy… Daddy… please don't die…"

Tears fell from her closed eyes.

Sesshoumaru knew that it was going to be a long night.

**

* * *

**

A/N: I bet you can't guess who that girl is! No, seriously… C'mon people! Yeah, I'm aware that this chapter was depressing… But, hey! Not every chapter can be happy and upbeat!

Sesshoumaru fan girls better like this chapter. I haven't written out a non-supernatural action scene in a long time…

Anyways, I hope you don't kill me for the cliffy ending. At least there was a little bit of Inuyasha/Kagome fluff! I really need to update more often… This is my shortest A/N ever in this fanfic!

For self-promotion on my own part... Please read my newest one-shot, **Cloud Nine**! Kagura/Sess fans who like dark themed fics will love this fic! It has actual limes in it.

Please review!

Ja ne!


	10. Promise

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: Hello again!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! It's about damn time!

Turtlequeen2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, how'd you like the insults Shippou gave you? -snickers-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Well, those don't count for me since that isn't me! Though, I'm glad that he didn't like the runt either… He has good taste.

Shippou: -glares- You're so mean! -hits Disclaimer!Inuyasha on the head and runs off-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Why you little…! -chases after Shippou-

Kagome: -sighs- I can assume that this story is in for a lot of those two's antics.

Turtlequeen2: Yep!

I thank the following reviewers for their reviews: xCharlie-Groupiex, junyortrakr, angel-kamui, oro kenshin, K.Higurashi, kagome past and present, Goldenstargirl, and saphira404!

I don't own Inuyasha, though I wish I did… Rumiko Takahashi owns him!

**NOTE**: Once again, **BOLD **means finger-spelling.

A little bit of self-advertisement: Please read my two latest Kagura/Sesshoumaru one-shots: **Fashionably Competent** and **Cloud Nine**. I'm sure that they're not very torturous. At least, I don't think they aren't…

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

**Promise**

By the time Sesshoumaru arrived at his home holding the precious cargo, he had been stared at strangely at least fifty times. He cared little about what they thought of him, but could not help getting a tad bit irked at the fact that strangers kept pestering him. Then again, who could blame them? It was not everyday that a rich-looking man rode the Shinkansen carrying a beaten girl with makeshift bandages on his injured arm.

Unable to reach for his keys without setting the girl down, he knocked on the door to his house. As he expected, his servant came running to his aid.

The door opened, revealing Jaken regarding him with wide eyes. "M-Milord! Who is that?! What happened to you?!" The questions kept flying until his master stared down at him with a cold expression. Jaken knew not to speak anymore once he saw that look.

"Jaken, follow me," Sesshoumaru commanded, walking until he reached the living room where a western-styled couch resided. On the cushions rested several plush pillows and on the back was a small green throw-blanket. He laid the injured girl onto the couch and turned to his servant who was behind him the entire time. "Jaken, fetch the first aid kit and care for the girl as best as you can. If it is beyond your means, I will drive her to the hospital tomorrow."

"R-right!" When Sesshoumaru left the area, the servant immediately set to his task, grumbling under his breath about how meaningless it was. Why did his master find interest in a half-dead girl? It was so unlike him! Of course, he did not have enough bravery to question his lord on such a matter.

Jaken glanced down at the injured girl, inspecting her wounds. What the heck had happened to her? Why had his lord taken such an interest in the child? Did he help protect her? So many questions swam through his head as he began treating her scrapes and bruises. He was careful not to look at her bare body when he had to bandage her waist and legs. He knew that treating her was all he could do at the moment.

After about two hours, the old servant finished with his task, admiring his handiwork. The girl laid sleeping on the couch with covers over her bandaged and clothed body. Based on the seriousness of the wounds, he knew that she would not be comfortable when she woke up; however, he chose to ignore that fact and went to his lord's study.

Knocking on the door, he awaited permission to enter the premises.

"Come in," came the cold grant.

"O-of course," Jaken replied, shuffling into the room and shutting the door behind him. Looking up at Sesshoumaru, he added, "The girl was tended to. She's still unconscious."

The business man gave a simple nod. That simple gesture was all that his servant needed to see to know that he had done a good job. Unfortunately, the servant's tasks were far from over. "Jaken, I would like you to look up information on that girl. When she wakes up, I will most likely be at work and thus, while I'm gone, you will stay here and watch over her. I want you to get her to talk so that we can figure out who she is."

Jaken resisted the urge to groan. What was he? A babysitter?! He forced himself not to talk and bowed in a formal fashion. "Yes, I will do my best," he finally announced before taking his leave.

After the old caretaker left, Sesshoumaru glanced around the spacious room out of restlessness. He sat down in his leather chair and pounded his fist against the wooden desk in front of him. "Why did I commit such a foolish act?" he demanded of himself. The realization had dawned on him. Sesshoumaru was harboring a strange girl in his house whom he knew nothing of.

* * *

Innocent brown eyes blinked open and then squinted because of the bright lights blaring over them. The small girl attempted to speak, but found that she had no voice. She tried to sit up, but found that it hurt too much to even move. The child turned her head to look about her surroundings.

She appeared to be laying on a couch. There was a western-styled coffee table a meter or so away. On the surface laid a small vase of tulips and a glass of water, obviously left behind for her. It was a shame that she could not move to get the glass.

"So, you're finally awake?" invaded a croaking voice that made her want to jump up in surprise.

A short, old man with an irritated expression on his face stalked towards her from the entranceway. His eyes reflected an odd yellow color due to the room's hue. "You were out for quite some time," he added in a calm manner that sounded forced.

Her expression showed confusion and fear. Where was she? She could comprehend him well enough, but could not reply.

"My name is Jaken and my lord has saved you from certain death," the man explained, hoping that she would talk. "Can you tell me your name?"

She opened her mouth only to have to shut it again. Nothing.

"Do you remember your name?"

She nodded, her short black hair bobbing with her head.

"Won't you tell me? It would please my lord greatly…" His tone was becoming more forced with every word. It was obvious that he had not dealt with children very often.

She tried to speak again, but found herself growing frustrated and stopped attempting. She knew that it was not necessarily her health that caused it. It must have been too much talking, right? Her mother told her many times that she spoke too often.

_Screaming._

Why did the girl hear a shriek within her mind?

_Trailing crimson. The floors. The walls. Covered. _

Flashbacks of a violent time passed through her thoughts.

"Girl?" the man questioned, noticing her wide eyes. She appeared to be in a trance. Something was not right with her. Why had Sesshoumaru decided to pick up this girl? Had he gone mad?

_Shouts. Signs of struggling. Knives and limbs in disarray, dancing in a ragged waltz._

Where had she gone? Why were her parents not around when she saw such scary things? Why was it so dark? All she could see was the flicker of shadows and liquid red.

_Blood. _

_"Don't hurt our child! I beg of you!" _

It was like a mantra swimming through her head. The voice was familiar.

_Mother. _

Her eyes widened even more. Tears flooded her eyes but did not fall.

_"Don't harm our darling! You can kill me and take our things, but please don't harm my family!"_

A tear slipped down her cheek.

_Father._

The girl's arms shielded her face and she opened her mouth to do something that was unfortunate she could still do.

Scream.

* * *

A sigh escaped the young woman who looked out of the window of her dismal room. Even when it was daytime, the house was still dark. She hated being bored nowadays. Her thoughts would always go back to a certain gentleman that angered her beyond reason. The feelings she had for him turned into bitterness and the sensations would show on her face in a scowl.

"You know, I heard that if you keep doing that with your face, it'll get stuck that way," came a teasing voice that startled her.

"W-what do you want, Byakuya?!" the woman demanded.

"Nothing much, Kagura," he replied, walking into her room after sliding her door shut. He sat on the futon beside her, looking her in the eyes with a more serious expression on his face. "What's been on your mind lately? You haven't left this room much since that day at the hospital…"

"Um… that was only two days ago," she pointed out bluntly.

"Point taken," he commented with a small smile. "Either way, you can't let that guy get you down for the rest of your life. There's plenty of other fish in the sea."

Kagura's eye twitched. "Don't even joke about that," she growled, clearly not in the mood for his taunting.

He feigned innocence. "All right, don't kill me for trying to be a concerned brother," he murmured in sarcasm.

Kagura's shoulders heaved. Her hair hung over as her eyes glanced away from him. "If you only saw that guy's face as he contorted…" she whispered quietly.

Byakuya's eyes lost their usual twinkle when he heard her words. "Was it really that bad?" he could not help but ask.

"Yes…" she replied, finding the strength to look him in the eye. "It just tore me apart from the inside… I don't know why…"

"Maybe because the man you respected was the one whom was cruel? It was something you didn't expect from him," came the simple statement.

"H-how would you know?" Kagura scoffed, surprised that Byakuya said something that quickly.

"I'm talented at reading the mind of my sister…" His smirk returned, making her glare at him. He quickly placed his arm around her shoulder. "Look, you're going have to leave this place sooner or later. You can't let that guy ruin your life."

Kagura sighed and leaned her body against him. Her brother was right. "I know… it's just…"

"Don't tell me you love the guy already…?" Now it was Byakuya's turn to scoff.

"No! I never loved him!" she shot back like a reflex.

"Okay, okay…" he relented when she pulled away from him. "Well, I'm always here to talk, you know."

"I know... And I'm grateful for it…" she responded in a believing tone.

"How about… I take you out somewhere?" he questioned. "I bet coffee would do you a world of good."

"Coffee?" Kagura repeated in a hopeful voice. "I hope you're not expecting me to pay…"

"Nope. I'll buy." He flashed an innocent smile and stood up. He brought out a set of car keys and twirled them around on his index finger.

"Aren't those…?" Kagura gasped.

"Yep. Father's keys," Byakuya nodded.

"You're going to steal his car?!" She was gawking at him in disbelief as she rose to stand beside him. "What if he finds out?!" She had a feeling that if they were caught, she would get the blame for it. That was how things usually went for her.

"Don't worry," he laughed. "He's not even here and probably won't be back for a day. He's off on a business trip."

"Since when…? He never told me," Kagura murmured irritably. Well, it actually was not that surprising when she thought about it. With him not telling her when he would leave, he could always show up and catch her off guard if she decided to do something reckless. "Besides, the little bastard in the front room would snitch on us." She was talking about Hakudoushi.

"I took care of that already…" he smirked. "You wouldn't believe what that kid will do for a few business lessons. He's itching to take over our father's company someday."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me…"

He let out a small laugh as he led her to where the car was.

It was a posh black towns car that was surely imported from Europe. The interior was of the finest leather and the exterior shined with a high-polished coat.

Byakuya waited until his sister was secure on the other side before he started the ignition and pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. He was thankful that not that many people drove around the area due to the convenience of the shinkansen.

However, as he continued to drive, the traffic grew more dense. They were entering the downtown district of Tokyo.

"Why did we have to pick the busiest time of day to go to the coffee shop?" Kagura demanded irritably.

"Why not? It gives us more time to discuss your problems," Byakuya laughed. "Besides, as I recall, the traffic is always horrible here regardless of the time."

She let out a frustrated huff and threw a glare at her older brother. "Thanks for looking out for me…" she drawled out in dripping sarcasm. "It's greatly appreciated."

"You're welcome!" He responded in a tone that sounded like she was thanking him for giving her a new dress. "It looks like it's working. There's the sarcasm that sounds like a lot like my younger sister."

She could not help but give him a small smile at that last comment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at her and saw the tiny speck of happiness that disappeared behind a mask of anger. He sneered, knowing that she was hiding her emotions from him.

After a half-hour, the traffic began to move in a faster fashion, allowing for the two to near their destination.

Their car stopped at an intersection and waited for the red light to change to green so that Byakuya could drive them into the parking garage that laid a few meters from them.

Unfortunately, the two did not notice a crazed driver speeding down the street from the left turn of the intersection. By the time Byakuya and Kagura noticed, it was too late.

The town car cruised smoothly across the intersection when the light changed. The other driver sped past his own stop light, hitting the side of their car and ruining the front side of his own.

All Kagura could see was black as her head hit the front of the dashboard and snapped back due to the force of the seatbelt. The last thing she heard was the consistent beeping of the other vehicles on the road and Byakuya's shouting.

* * *

Kagura woke up, surrounded by white and bright fluorescent lights. She tried to sit up, but found that her pounding head would not let her move far enough. She laid back against a cushioned pillow and put her hand up to her forehead only to realize that her fingertips were wrapped up in gauze bandages. She then noticed that the forehead she felt was also wrapped up. Her eyes widened once reality dawned on her.

"W-where am I?" she demanded in a hysterical voice.

"Shh…" came the hushed reprimand from a voice she could recognize. "You're in the hospital. You've been in here for the past two hours."

"I…I was…?" she whispered, feeling shocked. "B-Byakuya…?" She looked over, seeing her brother sitting by her bedside with various bandages around scrapes running along his arms and legs. "H-how are you? It was a car accident, right?"

His eyes glossed over with the expression of relief. "Thank God!" he exclaimed in a quiet voice. "I was worried that your concussion would give you amnesia. And, I was lucky enough to only have a few cuts. The car wasn't as lucky, however…"

Her eyes widened. The first thought that came to her mind was how her father would react. "D-does our father know yet?" she gasped.

"Actually, he's already on his way with the rest of our siblings," he answered, not having any idea of how much stress and worry she was going through at the particular moment.

"How damaged is it…?" she squeaked out in a voice that was very unlike herself. Her eyes held in a contained panic.

"The thing is totally smashed. We should be thankful that we're still alive…" he sighed.

Her eye twitched. He did not understand that there was a chance that she would not live to see the next week if Naraku knew what happened to his car. "H-how did he take the news?"

"Well, he didn't see the damage yet, but he knows about what happened. Of course, he's not too happy, but he said that he's more concerned about our health," he replied.

"That's a lie," she whispered in hushed irritation. She knew that when the time came, she would get the blame for what happened. If he was even concerned about her health, it would be so that she lived long enough for him to be the cause of her death.

Byakuya barely heard her words, but saw her expression. "Are you feeling alright?" he pondered.

"Do I look alright?" she snapped, still reeling with the feeling of dread.

"No, but…" He was cut off when the door to her room opened.

Kagura also heard the door open and felt her stomach lurch. She did not expect them to show up _this _soon…

"Kagura! Darling!" came the out-of-character cry of her father as he rushed to her bedside. "I left my meeting as soon as I heard about what happened to you and your brother!" He gave her a look that outwardly appeared worrisome like a normal parent. He sat on the side of her bed and grabbed her hand.

However, she was the only one who could see his eyes. They were cold and hardened. The expression was nearly malicious, sending chills up her spine. If she were not already scared enough, she would have snatched her hand away from him. She could only blink away the bad thoughts and fake a smile. "I'm glad that you cared enough to end your trip early in order to see me," she said in a poisoned sweet tone.

Naraku could tell that it was a silent battle of wits. He knew that he was winning, causing a small smirk to form on his face. To everyone else, it was the happy response to her "innocent" statement.

Hakudoushi and Kanna approached her other side with concerned looks on their faces. Well, if that was what the correct term was. Kanna's face remained frozen in an emotionless state. Hakudoushi's countenance seemed relieved of something.

The boy then smirked a little, making Kagura flinch. "And to think that I would have had to keep up with that bribe. Your little accident just saved me the trouble of lying to our father," he mentioned, spiking Naraku's interest.

"Kagura… what bribe?" Naraku questioned in a tone that made Kagura lose the last of her emotional control.

Shooting a glare towards her younger brother, she grabbed a tight hold of him with her free hand and declared, "You little bastard! You want to see me dead, don't you?! You sick and twisted fuck!" She ignored the slight pain it caused her as her fingertips met a surface in harsh manner.

Byakuya's eyes widened as he raced to stop her sister's assault. "Kagura! Calm down!" he shouted.

Naraku turned to smile calmly at his eldest child. "Byakuya, please. I will calm her," he told him. When he saw Byakuya relent, he turned his sights on Kagura who still held onto Hakudoushi. "Kagura… please calm yourself. This is hardly the place to spar with your brother like an immature child." As he said this, the pressure he kept on her hand tightened.

She flinched and released her brother. The agony Naraku was causing hurt much worse than when she grabbed onto Hakudoushi. It was as if needles were stabbing into her hand. "I'm sorry…" she whispered in defeat, inwardly relieved when the pressure was released. She bowed her head, knowing that when she got out of the hospital, she would have Hell to pay. The painful contact he placed on her wrist was going to be nothing compared to the torture she would endure later.

"While I'm not pleased with the way you greeted me, I will forgive you," came the slithering voice of Hakudoushi. "I do hope that you get well soon."

Kagura wished that she could have strangled everyone in that room.

* * *

Kagome greeted Ringo and the other staff members she saw as usual. She was directed to Inuyasha's temporary room where he still lay resting in the bed. It was obvious that the staff was being careful and wanted to make sure that he was well enough before they moved him back to his old room.

Inuyasha laid resting until he sensed Kagome's presence next to him. He was instantly alert, stubbornly crossing his arms and rolling over on his side so that he was not facing his teacher.

Kagome heaved a sigh, knowing that Inuyasha would behave like that. "Inuyasha…" she murmured, touching his shoulder. "I'm sorry…"

Her touch, as much as he hated to think about it, was comforting. It was nearly enough to make him forget about how much she had upset him yesterday. _Nearly_ being the key word in that sentence. Inuyasha moved abruptly, sitting up in his bed and crossing his arms in an angered fashion. His sightless eyes narrowed at her.

She let out another sigh. "I know why you're so upset," she said. "So, I think that you deserve some proof that I mean what I say in order for you to trust me again…" The woman brought out her large bag and pulled out a beaded necklace. The piece of jewelry was painted a dark brown with white fang-shaped beads spaced out throughout the chord.

Inuyasha's face contorted into confusion once the smell of wood filled his nostrils. What was Kagome planning?

The teacher grabbed his hand while he was distracted with the scene and revealed his palm. Dropping the beads in, she watched as he ran his fingers over them.

The young man began to see mental pictures of a distant past. It was the first time in years that he could see moving images other than masses of color within darkness. It was what he knew to be his mother and his younger self.

Inuyasha knew that there was a time when he could speak. He could hardly remember his voice and knew that he had never heard his voice as it matured.

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

He knew that he was about five at the time his mother took him to an odd place full of temples, red gates, and odd stones. People were there, bowed in prayer and placing money in slots as offerings. It was a Shinto shrine.

Beautiful women were dancing around visitors. All of them were dressed in the traditional dress of a miko. However, at the time, he only saw them as strange, entrancing women. His mother had left him alone for a few minutes, only to reappear with a gift for him.

It was a set of prayer beads. Izayoi smiled as she placed the necklace around his neck.

"Inuyasha, these are prayer beads. They are for good fortune and luck," she explained in a joyful tone. Her eyes sparkled with happiness.

"You got these for me?" he questioned innocently, touching the small brown and white globes. "Thank you, Okaa-san!"

She grinned and kissed the boy on the top of his head. "Of course I did, silly! You deserve the best that life can offer you." Taking Inuyasha by the hand, she lead him down the long stairs of the shrine grounds and out onto the city sidewalks. "Now, let's go meet up with Sesshoumaru and your father so we can get some ice-cream!"

He laughed, smiling at his mother, not giving a care in the world. Unfortunately, neither of them knew that life would eventually offer him very tragic deals.

* * *

**End Flashback**

* * *

Inuyasha's eyes glazed over before his entire face hardened. It was obvious that he trying to fight off his true emotions from recalling the event.

Kagome could instantly tell that the man was reacting to the item she gave him. She saw an expression that she had never seen on his face before then. He looked forlorn.

Inuyasha let out a growl of frustration. He knew that even though he could not see her, Kagome saw a vulnerable side to him. He did not want that to happen. No one had ever brought that out of him in such a long time. He gripped the beads tightly and nearly threw them, but held back.

The young teacher saw his hesitation and sighed. "I'm sorry… it seems like those brought back bad memories for you. I'll take them…" She reached out to take them, but he jerked his hand away before she had the chance to touch him.

"What do you want? You want to keep them?" she whispered, surprised by his sudden mood change. When she noticed him dangling the beads in front of her, she knew what he wanted. "You want me to put them on you then…" She nodded, taking the trinket and putting them over his head.

She smiled softly when she saw him touching the dark-colored orbs. The woman sat at the edge of his bed and took his other hand into both of hers. With one hand under his in order to hold it still, she finger-spelled with her other hand.

"**Ya-ku-so-ku**," she spelled out in his palm.

With all of the distractions, he was beginning to forget about the anger he felt towards her. He faced her with a confused expression.

"It means a 'promise,'" she explained aloud, touching his arm lightly. "I know that you can't understand me at the moment… but I know that those prayer beads mean a lot to you. To me, those beads represent a promise that I will keep with you. So long as you're my student, you will be the person I turn the most attention towards. I will make sure that you learn how to speak and communicate with the outside world. Hopefully, one day… you will be able to pass through these walls."

Kagome moved his hand to the piece and back into her other hand. She repeatedly signed the Japanese word. Once she was done, he slowly, but surely, returned the word to her.

"**Ya-ku-so-ku**."

For some reason, Inuyasha knew that this word was important. He knew to keep the sign locked within the back of his mind. He grasped Kagome's hand, catching her off guard.

"W-what are you doing?" she demanded, flustered. "Must we go through this every time I give you something?"

The student growled at her, feeling the scar that ran alongside the hand that had been cut the previous week.

"Oh, that… You're still hung up about that?" she laughed nervously. "I'm fine!"

"Keh!" came the remark that he seemed to be making more and more each time they met.

She rolled her eyes. "I know that you're trying to be sarcastic." She shook her head. "Well, at least that means that you've forgiven me now…"

Inuyasha's sightless eyes appeared to bore into her skull. His intense expression made her speechless. With his hand still holding onto her own, he dragged it up to feel his necklace.

The shocked teacher could only tentatively finger the individual beads. To her, it seemed like he was expressing his gratitude or at least showing her how much he liked his gift. "You're welcome, I'm guessing is what you'd want me to say," she said. She smiled again. "We need to teach you more words if you want me to keep my promise to you."

Inuyasha allowed her hand to drop after a few seconds, allowing her to continue with her daily lessons. As he attempted to gather more words from her, there were some successes and failures. Though, through the entire lesson, he could only think about the beads and his distant memory. He wondered if Kagome understood how much she had given him. It was the most anyone had ever done for him.

There was no way that he could begin to take a step into the normal world without his teacher by his side. He would not settle for less. Kagome was the best that the world offered him and he would take up the deal with newfound earnest.

* * *

A/N: Ha! I'm finally done with this chapter! I can't believe I finally finished it after all of this time. I'm hoping some of you can see why I had horrible writer's block over the Kagome/Inuyasha part.

A few translations:

Okaa-san - Mother

Yakusoku - Promise

Once again, I'm sure you'll all like **Cloud Nine** and **Fashionably Competent** if you like my Kagura/Sesshoumaru stuff.

I hope that this chapter won't disappoint! Oh, for the next chapter preview: More information on that "mysterious girl" and the future of Kagura.

Please review!

Ja ne!


	11. Beaten

**Disclaimer: **

Turtlequeen2: Poor Kagura…

Kagura: -glares- Yeah, only because you torture me…

Turtlequeen2: Aw, but it's all in good fan service.

Kagura: Now, I feel exposed for some reason…

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! You think you have it bad?!

Kagura: Ha! She put me in a torture story before.

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: And you think this isn't one? Look at my story self!

Kagura: Nah, not as bad…

Turtlequeen2: -gives nervous laugh- Well… while they argue, I shall thank the following reviewers: kagome past and present, angel-kamui, xCharlie-Groupiex, medusa85, saphira404, junyortrakr, katana sohma-demon girl, DtecnoKira, Aristocratic Assassin, Inu-midoriko, xXxDarkFairyxXx, Hatsuya, and Goldenstargirl!

Kagura: This insane person does not own me or anyone else. Although, I can't say the same about Rumiko Takahashi…

I give thanks to Kouryuu524 for helping me with the Naraku scene in this chapter.

**WARNING**: This chapter contains situations of physical abuse. If you are sensitive about that type of issue, I advise you not to read the chapter below.

Please note that until Inuyasha learns _more_ vocabulary, I will use simple Japanese phrases with translations to further emphasize how limited his knowledge of words are.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Beaten**

It started out as a normal day for Inuyasha and Kagome. New words to learn and the struggles it took to reach that point. The frustration and irritation both experienced with each other was evident.

Kagome let out a frustrated huff. "I suppose we can take a five minute break…" she sighed, patting his arm and rising from her seat.

By this time, Inuyasha had fully recovered from the incident that happened to him the couple of days before. The two were even back in his normal room.

Inuyasha could feel the vibrations on the floor from her feet scuffling around the vicinity and grew annoyed by them. "Keh!" he scoffed, trying to maintain his grumpy façade.

"Inuyasha… we're making good progress… You're by far, the most impressive student I've taught so far…" Kagome murmured aloud. "If only you could hear me say that." A small smile crept to her face until she heard his snarl. Casting a look in his direction, she could tell that he was growing angry. Glancing down at her feet, she found that she was pacing. "Oh… you could feel me pacing, huh? Sorry…" She let out a frail laugh and returned to her seat.

When he noticed that the vibrations ceased, he calmed himself. Taking a hold of her hand, knowing that she was within an arm's reach of her, he signed something for her to understand.

"**Kagome. Gomen.**" Why was he apologizing? She knew that he understood what the word meant.

She raised her eyebrow out of confusion. "**Nan desu ka?**" she signed back on his palm. "What?" was the only question that came to mind. "What are you sorry about…?" she muttered out loud. And why did he wait until now to tell her this?

"**Kutsuu**," came the only word that he felt would describe it.

"Pain?" she asked. "Why would you feel pain? Is something wrong…?"

Keeping a hold of her palm, he added, "**Shinpaisho**."

"You think I worry too much?" she mused. "I wonder if you're talking about the entire week when you were hurt…?" She was silently pleased that he retained such simple statements and knew what they meant in his own strange way. However, teaching him about words relating to basic emotions could have potentially been done at an indecent time… "**Daijoubu**," she returned, saying that she was fine.

This time, he let go of her hand and growled, showing her that he did not believe her.

His teacher felt herself grow confused again. Why this all of a sudden? How long had he kept this to himself when he was unable to communicate these things to her? Ever since he knew that she shed tears for him? The thought made her blush. "No, don't be silly, Kagome!" she laughed nervously, talking to herself. His concern was genuine. However, if he knew those words beforehand, would he have used them during that time? That question began to bother her.

She did not feel like arguing with him over her emotions and so touched him on his shoulder to tell him that she wanted to move on.

He would not have it. Crossing his arms, he turned from her in a stubborn fashion.

Kagome's eye twitched in annoyance. "Inuyasha…" she stated in an irritated tone.

The awkward silence would have continued if the sudden rap of the door did not occur.

Upon hearing the knock, the teacher walked to the door and opened it.

"Kagome!" came the excited chant. "I managed to sneak out of my room again!"

The woman shook her head, knowing exactly who it was. Glancing down, she smiled. "Shippou-chan! It's nice to see you again, but you shouldn't be sneaking out like that. The doctors worry about you," she admonished as if she were his mother.

The child snorted and wheeled his way into the room. After he heard Kagome shut the door behind them, he saw Inuyasha's current irritated condition. "What's with him? Every time I see him he looks like he's about to snap and kill someone."

Kagome did not want to answer his question at the moment. "How did you even find this room?" Last time she saw him, they were in Inuyasha's recovery room.

Shippou snickered in his mischievous manner. "I managed to do a few favors for Miroku and he let me get here."

"Dr. Miroku? And what were those favors?" she questioned while tapping one of Inuyasha's arms in a gesture to make sure that he knew that she was not trying to ignore him. "…and when do you call doctors by just their names?"

The child shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I just helped him bring joy into the children's wards. They like my magic tricks."

Kagome's eyes lit up. "You can do magic tricks?"

"Yep!" he hummed, puffing his chest out in a proud fashion. "Wanna see?"

"Well, I don't know if I can right now… I'm still in the middle of my lessons with Inuyasha…" the instructor sighed, not wanting to make the man anymore ticked than he already was.

"C'mon! I can incorporate it into the lesson somehow!" the child argued with a grin. "Teach him the word magic or something!"

"I don't know…" she repeated, not truly sure if it was the best of ideas.

"Please!" he pleaded, his green eyes twinkling with childlike innocence.

She heaved a sigh, caving in to his whims. "All right… but I'm not sure about his sense of humor yet." It was a warning.

Shippou nodded, knowing what she meant and tried his best to prepare himself.

Kagome tapped Inuyasha on his arm again, trying to get his attention.

The young man threw a sightless glare in her direction, still not willing to participate.

The girl sighed and tugged on his arm enough for him to reveal his palm to her. "**Gomen**," she finger spelled.

Inuyasha relented with a snort of some kind and uncrossed his arms.

Kagome grinned. "Great! Now…" she trailed off, taking a hold of his palm. "**Mahou**." The katakana for the word "magic" were fairly simple.

He tilted his head sideways to show that he was confused with what the word meant.

"Shippou-chan, if you could please demonstrate…?" Kagome requested, giving him her signal.

"Right!" he shouted, wheeling up to where Inuyasha sat and laying a single red ribbon in his hand.

Based on the scent of the one who was closest to him, the man knew that it was not Kagome who was touching him. He raised his eyebrow, knowing the scent was familiar, but did not trust it quite yet. Nevertheless, he prevented himself from doing anything and waited.

The young boy waved his hands over the cloth and muttered foreign words under his breath.

The air stirred above Inuyasha, silently telling him that something was moving above his own hand. What was going on?

Suddenly, a small cloud of smoke erupted from the ribbon, emerging into a medium-sized stone golem. "See?" Shippou cried. "I can perform magic!"

Kagome would have clapped if not for the next thing that happened.

For some odd reason, the student suddenly fell forward, unable to sustain the weight of the stone statue in his hand. He lost his balance and landed on the marble floor with a light thud.

The woman was about to reach out for him when she heard him growl out of irritation. "Uh… I don't think he's amused."

Shippou's eyes widened. "That wasn't supposed to happen, I swear!" he protested. "I think that golem has steel weights inside of it. Somehow, that got switched out of my bag for the hollow one I had!" He would have plotted more ways to say excuses if not for the ticked off patient that was moving towards him.

Somehow, Inuyasha instinctively knew that the boy was young based on the small hands he felt. Rising up swiftly, he managed to bring his fist down upon Shippou's head instead of attempting to beat down the person who supposedly made a "fool" out of him. The teen assumed that the so-called "magic" was a prank played on him by the child.

The teacher's eyes widened out of shock. Did he know that Shippou was a child? Either way, he should not have harmed him. "Inuyasha…" she murmured.

Inuyasha turned his head away and let out a typical "Keh!" sound as if he had heard her say his name.

Shippou, on the other hand, held his hands to his head, feeling a knot beginning to form. Tears filled his eyes from the agony as well as from rising anger. "H-he hit me! That idiot hit me!" he declared.

Kagome sighed. "I'm so sorry, Shippou-chan. I'll go get Miroku-sama if you need any medical help. Inuyasha just didn't understand…"

The child shook his head, not wanting to listen to her reasoning. "Fine then! I'll get you back!" He rolled himself forward and intentionally ran over Inuyasha's foot, initiating a good five minute chase scene around the room.

The young teacher's eyes twitched repeatedly from mounting rage and annoyance. Finally having enough, she stomped her foot harshly onto the floor. "STOP!" she yelled furiously, snapping both boys to attention.

Seeing that Inuyasha was in front of his chair somehow, Kagome stomped her foot again, knowing that he could feel the vibrations skidding across the floor. "Inuyasha, sit!"

For some reason, the student knew that Kagome was angry and managed to do as she told him, knowing more so based on feeling the chair's leg against his own limb.

Turning herself to face Shippou, she sighed once more. "Shippou-chan, that was very immature of you to do. I know that he hit you, but you shouldn't have retaliated like that," she scolded.

The boy felt as if he had been smacked. His head hung low with shame. "I'm sorry…" he breathed out. "I'll go now." He sent a light glare to his opponent. "But don't think I won't return!"

Kagome shook her head, feeling a headache coming on as she let the child out of the room. After shutting the door, she faced the abnormally silent man. "Inuyasha…" she whispered. She was still upset at his behavior. "You haven't been able to interact with children, have you…?" That was her thought at his violent reaction. Her eyes narrowed despite her calming stature. "How am I supposed to keep my promise to you if you don't cooperate with me better?" she asked more in a rhetorical sense.

Inuyasha experienced a slight pang of guilt for his actions. He knew that they were irrational and that they had made her upset. However, he could not stop himself. He kicked the golem that he dropped during the middle of the feud, feeling the light vibrations it made as it bounced across the floor.

Kagome decided to end the day early, but did not want to make him worry about her feelings for the rest of the night. She poked him lightly on the arm and took his hand out again. "**Ja ne**" she signed, telling him that she would see him the next day.

Her calming gestures seemed to ease his distress, but he still felt bad for what had happened. He wished that he would make her happy one day. Upon feeling the heavy door shut and knowing that her scent faded away, he vowed to continue learning so that one day he would be able to make her proud of him.

* * *

Upon arriving to her home, Kagome had the sinking feeling that the day was not going to get any better. Heaving a sigh, she entered the small area to find her best friend crying.

Kagome's eyes widened and she hurried to the girl's side. "Sango-chan…! What's wrong?" she asked in a hushed and soothing voice, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Sango looked up at her friend and sniffled. She took a tissue from the table she was sitting at and dabbed at her eyes. "Remember when I told you about hospitals closing down?" She mumbled the question, acting as if she did not want to discuss the topic.

The younger woman nodded her head. "Yes…"

"Well, the branch where most of my students stayed got their funding cut. It was an ultimatum; either cut the program or go bankrupt and eventually close down the entire hospital…"

Kagome was in shock. "What?!" she declared, losing composure once again. "How could they do that? Why that program of all things?"

Her best friend shook her head with disgust flashing through her eyes. "They think that the handicapped who are unable to live on their own are like cattle. 'Those people' are the 'easiest' to move without direct threats of death. Especially for those of the blind and deaf department."

"That's horrible…" The tone was sympathetic for her friend and for her students. After a few more minutes of consoling Sango, the woman pondered, "What are you going to do now?"

The older woman shook her head again. "The hospital is supposed to tell me where their patients moved so that I will move to those places."

Kagome nodded, taking in the information. "When are they supposed to call?"

"They said within a few days…"

The girl sighed. "Sango-chan, you should be glad that at least the other patients within that hospital won't have to take risks by moving into a cramped space. Also, you only have to move. You can still see your students."

Sango dabbed at her eyes once more. "I know, but that isn't the point…" she growled.

"I understand…"

The other woman rose from her seat. "I'm going to go clear my head for a while…" she breathed out, walking towards where her shoes were.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Sango forced a smile. "I'll be fine. Don't let my mood get you down." After putting her shoes on, she added, "I just want to be alone for a bit. I'll be back in a few hours."

Kagome's expression was forlorn, but, nevertheless, she waved at her friend before sitting down on the same tatami mat that Sango had used just moments before. She understood her friend perfectly. They both shared an incredible connection to their students. When their students suffered, they felt their pain.

Upon thinking about that, she was brought back to her most challenging student. Inuyasha.

"I want him to make new friends… to make his own relationships…" she thought aloud. "But, how can I help him do that when he seems so against that experience? How can he gain happiness when he feels so isolated…?"

The thought made her heart ache. To think that the man had not even interacted with children ever since he was taken to that handicapped center!

"Inuyasha… I will not give up on you," was the continued pledge she would never forget.

* * *

Rin.

The girl's name was Noto Rin.

Sesshoumaru rolled over the name in his mind along with the many facts that he had learned of her over the past few hours while sitting in his study. He momentarily stared down at the bandage wrappings that covered the deep, but recovering arm wounds from the fight he was caught in, feeling thankful that the gashes did not cause him much pain. Looking straight ahead towards the door, his thoughts returned to Rin.

Black hair. Brown eyes. Her age was ten.

She had no other living relatives. No siblings. No parents. No one.

The girl's family had made a modest living ever since she had been conceived. Her mother was a store clerk while her father worked at a fishing warehouse. The child was home schooled for most of her life. From what he could tell, the family was humble and had no enemies. As he thought, the gang members attacked them as a random target.

The child lost her entire family just because some men wanted to loot for goods. It was sickening.

Now that he thought about it, Rin's information was actually a challenge to find. No one in her family left much of a mark in society. It served to provide little information from internet and other media sources. He even went as far as to ask around for information on the Noto family, but not a lot came from it.

Sesshoumaru let out a slow breath, thinking back to what brought him to this point.

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

A few days ago, after arriving home from working, he found Jaken in a distraught mood.

His worker seemed frazzled as if he had gone through trauma.

"What is it, Jaken?" he could not help but ask.

"I'm glad that you asked, Sesshoumaru-sama!" he replied, appearing as if Sesshoumaru's tone of wonderment managed to pick him back up. "It's about that girl…"

"What of her?" the businessman demanded, his calm voice gone. It was replaced with a cold, calculated tone. He wanted to know information and it was obvious that he had thought of her situation since he was away.

Jaken shrunk back slightly, but recovered himself quickly. "Please allow me to explain. I wasn't able to get her name…"

"And why not?" The young man's eyes narrowed.

"The girl began to scream as if she was losing her mind!" he shouted as he lead him to the sleeping child. "When I asked her about her name after she woke up, she acted as if she couldn't speak and then started to scream for no reason! After that, she tired herself out and remained asleep for all of this time."

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow arched as his interest rose. "It would be a normal type of reaction for a girl in her situation. Her family members were most likely murdered in front of her. She woke up for the first time, not in a dangerous situation and so reality began to set in," he theorized.

His servant nodded, taking in the news. "I suppose so… but what if she has gone mute?"

"I do not believe that has happened to her at this point in time," Sesshoumaru replied, shaking his head. "We will wait and see." Looking back at the coat rack within the room, he removed his suit jacket and placed it on the storage space. "If she was able to scream, she may be able to speak, given the right amount of time."

Before either was able to speak another word, they both witnessed the girl's eyes blinking open.

She sat up slowly, looking over the pair. She was apprehensive towards Jaken, but grinned when she saw his master. "Daddy…?" she whispered, her eyes glazed over.

Jaken's eyes widened and he could not help but sputter. "H-how dare she…! Such disrespect!" he snarled.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru interjected harshly, making his servant silence himself immediately. He moved closer to the couch and shook his head. "I am not your father," he answered in a tone that was more cold than he meant it.

She blinked a few times before realizing that he was right. She remembered feeling someone holding her that tragic night before passing out. In her fit of stress, she had hoped that it was her own father despite seeing him die before her eyes. She felt tears beginning to spill over her cheeks.

So it was true. She had no family members left.

Sesshoumaru was at a loss. What could he do for this girl? There was nothing but misery about her. What had tempted him to save her? "Girl…" he murmured, trying his best to get her attention but failing at the task.

Why did horrible men choose to slaughter her family members? Why did she have to be the only one living? Despite being a child, she thought about these things. It was surprising how one tragedy could make someone face reality in the worst of ways. She did not pay attention to the two men beside her. She only wanted to see her parents.

"Child!" Jaken shouted, not bothering with sounding nice. He had had enough of dealing with her difficulties and he was battling with an ongoing headache because of her screaming. "Answer Sesshoumaru-sama when he addresses you! If not for him, you would be dead!"

"'D-dead…'?" she echoed, beginning to tremble. "I'm _not_ dead! I _want_ to be dead!"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. He made a mental note to cut back on Jaken's paycheck for making matters worse. "Jaken, go do something else. I'll deal with her for now."

His master's voice was fierce, making him know that he was not pleased with his actions. "R-right away!" he said, running off.

"Why am I alive?" she sobbed. "My parents are dead!"

The man beside her gripped her shoulders, hard enough to get her attention, but not enough to harm her. "Look at me," he commanded.

The girl's eyes darted up to him, looking wild. She silenced herself, feeling scared.

"You are safe from those men. I would not imagine that your parents would want you dead. They wanted you to live," he told her, hating to sound so unlike himself.

_"Don't hurt our child! I beg of you!" _

_"Don't harm our darling! You can kill me and take our things, but please don't harm my family!"_

Her mother and father's last words were swimming through her mind when Sesshoumaru mentioned that they did not want her to die. It was true. They wanted her to live.

"Why?" she repeated, her yelling dropping into a defeated whisper.

"Because they clearly cared about you. No normal parent wants to see their child die before them," he replied, trying not to think back to his own family in the process of doing so. He was one to talk, considering all of the grief he had to suffer through with his brother.

It was beginning to dawn on him. He felt a connection to her because, like her, he had lost his parents at a young age. However, unlike her, he was never completely alone. He had his brother to take care of, but all of that was in vain.

He inwardly cursed once he realized that he thought back to his family as he told himself not to do. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. "It would most likely make them happy if you stop thinking about dying at your age."

The young girl noticed his faraway expression, but did not say anything on it. "…Sesshoumaru-sama…?" she whispered, trying to recall his name.

The man nodded, confirming that she was right. "Could you tell me your name?" he then requested, his thoughtful tone beginning to fade away into the usual monotonic sound.

She froze when he let go of her shaking shoulders. She was trying to think back to her name and drew up a blank. "My name?" She was growing fearful again.

He rose from his sitting position and resisted the urge to sigh. "I will return later and hopefully you will remember."

He turned to walk away from her when he became aware of a small hand tugging at the back of his shirt.

"R-Rin… Noto Rin…" Her voice was frail, but in the least, she had stopped crying.

Sesshoumaru rotated himself to face her again. "Thank you," he responded, his grateful feelings flashing through his eyes for a brief moment before he walked away. "If you need anything, yell for either me or Jaken," he called back, knowing that her nightmares were only beginning.

* * *

**End Flashback**

* * *

Right after Rin told him her name, he immediately began to research her. The process took a few days, but he finally managed to get enough information to tell him what he wanted to know.

What was he going to do now? It was becoming a daily ritual to return home to see a panicked Jaken squawking about how she woke up either crying or yelling. He did not even know how to go about telling the government about the girl. He knew that as soon as they knew that he had her, they would demand for her to be placed within a foster home.

From what he could tell, the Japanese police did not even go to that area to do any investigation. The crime was not reported on the news. It was as if she did not exist any longer.

For some reason, a word flashed through his mind. _Adoption_.

Sesshoumaru lost his composure for a moment. "Ridiculous. Why would I take interest in adopting a girl whom I've just met a few days ago?" he scoffed.

_'Because you want a second chance,' _his mind answered for him.

A second chance to redeem himself worthy of being a caretaker. That possible chance to break out of his mental prison of thinking about his brother and everything that went wrong within their family.

* * *

**One Week Later**

* * *

Kagura awoke from her rest, feeling normal for the first time in a while since the car accident. After two days, she was allowed to leave the hospital on orders to rest at home and take prescribed pills for any headaches that would occur.

What doctors did not tell her was about the other symptoms that would occur while having a concussion. Over the past week, she had difficulty concentrating on anything coherent, had the hardest time walking straight since she was always dizzy, and went through random bouts of nausea.

She attempted to sit up, but already felt her head begin to pound. "B-Byakuya?" she pondered aloud, seeing her brother by her side as he had been the entire week.

"You shouldn't try doing that so fast," he chided in a gentle manner. "And you wonder why you get so many headaches."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't plan on laying down forever."

"No one is expecting you to," he responded, laying down a tray beside her.

Kagura sighed. "I don't get why you feel so bad about it. The accident wasn't your fault. You shouldn't baby me like this."

He shrugged. "Even if I wasn't the one who was at fault in the accident, I was the one who took the car without Father's permission and drove it out there with you in it. I feel responsible." Pushing the tray in front of her, he instructed, "Now eat something." On the platter was a bowl of rice with a small plate of fish.

She picked up the chopsticks that rested across the bowl and moved the tray to rest on her lap. She held the bowl within her scarred hand, picked up rice with her chopsticks, and brought the bite up to her mouth for consumption. "Thank you," she replied after eating a few more bites.

"Kagura… I want to talk to you about something," he said, breaking the silence that settled over them. His expression was serious and very unlike his usual sarcastic self. "About our father."

Her eyes narrowed of their own will at the mention of Naraku. "What of him?" she snapped, moving the tray back over to the side of the futon she was resting in.

"I'm worried about your relationship with him."

The woman raised her eyebrow, calming slightly. "What do you mean?" She sounded cautious.

"Well, this has been going on for the past week, but I didn't want to bring it up until you were a bit better…"

Kagura did not like where the conversation was going, but grew annoyed at how indirect he was being. "Just spit it out already!" she commanded, ignoring her ongoing headache.

He began to speak, but was caught off by Hakudoushi knocking on the door entrance.

The older siblings turned to the shadow that was clearly their youngest brother.

"What is it?" Kagura barked, not in the mood to deal with the brat.

The smirk could practically be heard in the boy's voice. "Our father wishes to speak to you _alone_," he purred before beginning to walk away. "He's waiting in his office," he called back.

The woman's eye twitched, knowing that this would be a meeting she would dislike. She took her time standing and resisted the every instinct in her body that told her to run away.

"You want me to go with you, Kagura?" Byakuya asked, seeing how pale her face appeared.

She shook her head stubbornly. "No, just go do something else. I don't want you to interfere…" Her speech turned cold.

Her older brother was concerned about her health, but relented, knowing how headstrong she was. "All right then. I'll just go into town to buy you more medicine," he said while helping her through the door. After he was sure that she was able to walk on her own, he turned the opposite way and left her on her own.

As soon as she knew that she was alone, she immediately began to wonder if that was the wisest choice she could have made. She shook her head, determination sinking into her eyes. "Get a hold of yourself, Kagura," she whispered to herself. It had been a week. Usually Naraku would harm her directly after something had gone wrong. Maybe she was going to be lucky for once? Perhaps he really just wanted to speak to her about civil issues?

She mentally rolled her eyes. _'Yeah, I'd sooner see Hakudoushi find a girlfriend before that happens,' _she bitterly thought while insulting her brother at the same time. When she approached the shoji door of her father's office, she raised one of her hands and hesitated. Forming a fist, she felt it shake. Letting out another breath, she summoned up all of her courage and rapped on the door.

"Kagura? I'm assuming that it's you," came the rather _pleasant _sounding voice that made chills run up her spine. "Please come in."

She listened to his words, placing up a courageous and strong front while she was really rattling with fear on the inside.

"Please slide the door shut behind you," he added, his calm voice instructed.

That was never a good thing. The doors were thin, but whenever they were closed, you were never to enter his office for whatever reason. She learned that once the hard way. However, outwardly, she took no notice to the warning sign and did as she was told.

"Sit down," he told her and she listened. "Please don't look so frightened," he added, taunting the fact that a bit of her scared self shown through her defiant glare set on him.

Kagura already felt sick by just facing him.

The main source of light within the entire room was made by an antique, western-styled kerosene lamp. It sat atop a high desk at which Naraku sat behind. The man did not believe in excessive lighting and so only used the lamp for paper work and cared little about what went on around him in the darkness.

Several cabinets lined the old-fashioned walls and a rather large book shelf rested behind his desk, giving the room a conflicted appearance. It was a place where the ancient met the future in the most grotesque of ways, making the entire office unsettling to most people.

The man feigned a sigh, lacing his hands together and leaning forward to rest his arms upon the desk. "Kagura, I am sure that you know why I called you here, right?"

"Yeah, I have a faint idea of why I was brought here," she growled, her glower directed towards him and filled with hatred.

"Good, then. That spares me time," he responded, a smirk crossing his face. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a rather thick book that had the word "insurance" lining the front in Japanese lettering. "As you would have imagined, I wanted to discuss the damage that was done to the car that you and your brother had taken out without my permission."

The woman rolled her eyes. Of course he had to add in that they technically "stole" it. "Okay then. How much is it worth?" she asked, playing along with his game.

"Well, that is where this whole process gets a bit too complicated for you to understand," he muttered, a smirk plastered on his face as he opened the book up, feigning to read the passages inside. "But I shall try and take this down to your level of comprehension. The car was worth about six million yen, but the insurance company only paid me two million, one hundred fifty-five thousand, and three hundred ninety-nine yen. You see the big difference here, correct?"

Kagura's eyes narrowed. Despite not having regular schooling, she was quite intelligent. So it was not a surprise that she disliked it when someone insulted her intelligence and he knew that very well. "Yes," she grumbled, honestly not paying that much attention to the specific numbers. It was not as if he expected her to pay for it. "Why the hell didn't you insure it for six million?" she then demanded.

Naraku let out an amused chuckle as he snapped the book shut, sending dust particles into the dimly lit air. "That is where it gets too complicated for your feeble mind my, _darling_ daughter," he taunted, the last two words of his sentence laced with sarcasm. "But I shall do my best, once again, to educate you. You see, I bought the car and am still paying it off for six million yen. But when I drove it off the car lot, depreciation took away about one million yen. The fact that it is a year old took off another one and a half million yen; along with several other factors that only leave me with the two million, one hundred fifty-five thousand, and three hundred ninety-nine yen from the insurance company."

His words were spoken in such a tone that to any foreign listener, it would merely sound like a father teaching his child about how insurance works, but anyone from the household knew that laced under his innocent impression were the feelings of anger and resentment.

Soon, her rising irritation began to replace her fears. "_Father_," she drawled, the name dripping like acid from her tongue. "Are simple minded do you think I am?"

"Well, daughter, seeing how much trauma you have taken lately, I just didn't feel like putting added stress on your damaged mind," he jeered as he rapped his fingers on the hard cover of the book.

"Now Kagura, just how do you plan on paying me back?" he questioned calmly, a fake smile plastered on his face as he glowered into her hazel depths with his piercing black gaze.

"…Well, before I answer that question," she began. "I'd like to know if you have already discussed this with Byakuya?" Knowing how he usually was, the chances that he did talk to him were slim.

"Why would it concern him?" Naraku sneered as he gripped the book tightly. "_You_ were the one who caused the wreck and thus, _you_ must be the one to pay." Having said that, the taller man quickly smacked Kagura using the book in a backhand like motion, knocking her off of her chair and to the ground.

Horror and hatred built up within her as she sat on the ground, wiping the blood from her chin and cheek. Glaring up at him defiantly, she hissed, "I wasn't the other idiot who ran the red light! You can get that damn car replaced within an hour and you know it! The only reason I'm here now is because you're pissed that I defied your authority!" She rose up on shaky feet and gave him a bitter laugh to further taunt him.

Naraku's glare intensified at her defiance and he struck her with the book one more time, across the opposite cheek, causing the woman to stagger away in pain. "So you wish to defy me even more, do you? I was angered because I know it was your idea. Byakuya would do anything you said to do and that's why he stole my car." After taking a few breaths, the older man recomposed himself and smirked at his offspring. "But if you wish to be defiant I will just have to teach you a lesson."

"It doesn't matter what I say to you," she spat, her voice still strong despite still feeling liquid crimson trail down her face. "There's no such thing as fucking 'innocent until proven guilty' in this house!" She continued to stand a few meters from him. She smirked at him despite herself, deciding to add onto her argument. "Oh, Let me guess. You wanted to wait to do this until I was better in order to prolong the agony or to enjoy making me fall to my knees by your own hands…" She snorted. "You're so predictable."

"If I am so predictable as you claim I am, why did I call you down here while you were still injured?" he taunted, quickly closing the gap between them. "I brought you in here in your current condition so I could take full advantage of this," he snarled as he lunged out, wrapping his hand around her throat. Before the woman knew what was happening, she was free from the man's grip, only to have her head smack off of the hard wall behind her.

The headache that had begun to dull due to distractions returned with full force along with added pain. For some reason she knew that her concussion had returned or had worsened because of this sudden action. She dropped to her knees from the ache in her head, losing balance. "Dammit… Y-you bastard…" she snarled but had little strength to strike back. She did not bother to wipe the blood that came out of her mouth as she spoke, but continued to rise up on shaky legs.

"My darling Kagura, I'm sure that you were raised to respect those who are your superiors," Naraku said in a soft tone as he whipped the back of his hand across the right side of the young woman's face, causing her to drop to the ground. His "innocent" front had long since been replaced with sadistic amusement, causing her insides to churn with disgust when he murmured her name. "Now you must learn that you are _nothing_ compared to me," he snarled out, emphasizing the word "nothing" as he kicked the woman in the gut with ferocious strength.

She fell forward again, this time coughing up blood and finally letting out the contents of her stomach. The pressure against her stomach was too much to bear, especially after his latest assault. However, one thing she made sure that he would never see was her tears no matter how much agony he put her through. She learned how to keep her tears of anguish locked up within her when Naraku was around.

Naraku let out a laugh that sounded as if he were possessed by a demon as he grabbed Kagura by her hair, looking at her swollen and bloodstained face, "Looks like you've finally leaned to keep that mouth shut. And here I was thinking that I'd have to break your jaw to teach you that lesson," he jeered, dragging his daughter to her feet. "Though there _is_ still the little matter of my car…"

She continued to glare at him and finally managed to spit blood into his face. "Fuck you," she hissed, still panting from the aftermath of her heaving. "...Don't give a shit about that car or you," she added in a weak murmur.

"You just don't learn your lesson, do you?" he growled, tugging her across the room, picking up speed as they went. When they were almost at his desk, Naraku pushed Kagura forward, slamming her face first into a cabinet that sat next to the desk.

Kagura idly wondered if this was the end for her. Over some stupid matter like a wrecked car, her father was prepared to kill her. She knew that there was a large possibility that she would not survive past this day. She was beginning to lose too much blood as she hacked up more. She was prepared to defy him until she did die if the time ever came. She wanted to say something, but found that she was too weakened to even speak. She wanted more than anything to escape from the Hell she was enduring but knew all too well that Naraku would just as easily pull her back.

In a desperate effort to get him to stop attacking her, she reached for the kerosene lamp with an outstretched and bloody hand. She wanted to smash it over his head, but as she lifted it up, the lamp slipped from her grip and shattered on the ground right beside her. She felt small shards of glass go into her back and felt the hot flames that began to spread from the fire that she started. It took her only moments to realize that she was on fire as well and let out a strangled yell as the flames burned through her shirt and began to sear her flesh.

Naraku stepped back from his daughter and watched her burn, the smell of her flesh cooking filled the air. He was not about to let her die; that would be too much paper work and too much of an annoyance to deal with. No, he would put her out, after he decided that she was not going to disobey him again.

Kagura stopped moving, wanting to just let herself die and get the agony over with. She could hardly breathe by this point.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing a horrified Byakuya. "What the hell happened here?" he demanded, easily disobeying the unwritten rule of knocking before entering. "Kagura!" he shouted, seeing his sister on fire. He quickly went out of the room to grab one of his father's leather coats and returned to put it over her back. He mentally noted how his father merely stood there and watched. "I knew it…" he muttered under his breath bitterly. "I should have taken her words seriously…"

Glowering up at his father, he knew that he was the cause of all of it. He saw the blood that ran down his fists and the splattered crimson on his face. Naraku's current cold facial expression spoke volumes. "_You_ did this to her!" the young man declared in a snarl after pulling her body away from the spreading fire that burned through the desk and the nearby cabinet.

By the time that Byakuya had put the fire out, Kagura had already been rendered unconscious. He knew that if he did not get her help soon, she would risk dying.

Naraku, despite the commotion, managed to quickly recover collected composure and merely smirked at his eldest son. "Your sister and I were just having a word when she decided she needed a refresher course in manners," he remarked coolly. "She'll be fine and after a few days, be healed up and ready to start working off the expenses of that car."

"So this is your true self," Byakuya growled. "All these years... I never knew." He felt disgusted with himself and with his father. "It'll take more than a few fucking days to heal her!" Anyone who knew him well enough knew that he was truly enraged when he started to use curse words.

The younger man carefully picked her up, keeping the leather wrapped around her thin body. Upon closer inspection, he saw that she was already knocked out and had various marks lining her face that could not have been made by just a fist. Looking at Naraku's hands, he saw rings on them and knew what the markings were.

"You never knew because you obeyed, you followed the rules, and if you didn't, you learned from your mistakes. Besides that, you were off in schooling for so long," Naraku growled back, trying to intimidate his son. "Now take her to her room and put something on that back of hers or else it may prove to cause complications."

Unfortunately for Naraku, Byakuya did not fear him. He shook his head. "I'm not leaving her in your care." He cast a quick look to the fire that was beginning to die down. Only ash from destroyed papers and scorched furniture remained behind the calming embers and thick smoke. Placing her down momentarily, he added in an irritated fashion, "I'm going to get something."

Naraku did not give him any words but was caught by surprise when a hard fist hit his face as his son walked beside him and out of the room, retrieving a set of car keys.

Upon returning with the keys in his pocket, Byakuya saw Naraku begin to rise from the ground with blood flowing from his visibly broken nose. "You are nothing but a coward," he spat coldly. "To strike down your own daughter! How despicable!" he admonished, picking up Kagura and heading towards the exit.

"You'll regret betraying me, boy," Naraku vowed as he held his nose, trying to stop the blood that was gushing out. "What happened to your sister here will seem like nothing when I get my hands on you two next."

The young man's glare intensified as he turned to face his father, reminding Naraku that it was indeed his own son. "If you dare try to follow us, I will take her to the police and tell them what you have done to her. These ring marks are enough to count as evidence against you."

Naraku knew that he was beat, for now, at the very least. The burn on the young woman's back would probably scar on top of the other injuries she sustained. That would be enough to remind her he could get her any time he wanted. "If I ever see you two around here again, you will wish that you both burned to death tonight."

Byakuya scoffed. "I have no intentions to come back here," he replied, walking out of the room and leaving the house, getting in the car that was nearest the end of the driveway. He had already driven the car when he attempted to drive to the store and so knew how to operate it. Placing Kagura into the back seat, Byakuya turned the ignition on and sped out of the driveway. He pressed one of the buttons resting on the dash, activating the GPS navigation system.

He spoke a name out loud, knowing fully well that it was in Naraku's address book in every place due to the business meetings he used to constantly have with the members of the family. He sped off in the direction of the home and was pleased to find that the lights were on in the rather large house once he parked in the front of it. Writing a quick note with a piece of paper and a pen he took from the car's storage compartment, he placed the note within Kagura's fisted hand that she made in her state of unconsciousness.

Getting her body out of the car, he carried her to the front porch and rang the doorbell before rushing back to the vehicle and pulling around the corner to watch the door open from a safe distance.

Kagura's body slumped over, making her lay on her stomach with her outstretched hand reaching forward while instinctively clutching the note.

Once Byakuya saw the person's shadow in the doorway, his expression read that of relief and he drove off into the night. He wished that he could have stayed with Kagura, but he had more things that he had to do at the moment. He figured that it also would be safer if the two separated after Naraku's threat. "I know you and her haven't gotten along in the past, but I'm counting on you, _Sesshoumaru_…" he murmured.

* * *

As the hospital promised, Sango had gotten the call within a few days after her position was moved. She sat in her room with one of her "prized" students, waiting for the chance to take a break.

"**We're going to take a small field trip**," she announced, signing to the man sitting across from her.

"Why?" he spoke, a pronounced deterioration sounding on his one-worded question.

Of all of the places she was assigned to, she had never imagined to be placed within this center. She flashed him a smirk, pulling him up to stand beside her.

His clear blue eyes reflected confusion, but nevertheless, he followed after her.

"**We are visiting one of my good friends who work here**," she explained as they made their way to the elevator.

"Who?" Again, another simple question.

"**A fellow teacher of mine named Kagome**," she announced, making the motions in the air when they got off onto the top floor of the building. Remembering her way around the floor, she finally found Inuyasha's room. She snickered, rotating herself to face her student. "**She'll enjoy your company plenty**," she informed him with her hands. Accentuating on the last word that came out of her mouth, she said his name.

"Kouga."

* * *

A/N: Two cliffies in one chapter?! Yes! -shrinks back- Please don't kill me! I would have left you with that depressing piece of writing for one cliffy, but knew that you wouldn't like that news either. So… I wrote a little bit extra to make you all expect more things in the next chapter!

A small note regarding the conversation between Kouga and Sango. The reason that I made Sango sign in English was to let you all know how much more advanced he is in his sign language.

Yes, I have read some of your comments on how much coverage Kagura has been getting lately. I understand that she and Sesshoumaru aren't the main focus. However, I will state this once. There is purpose for this within the plotline of an Inuyasha/Kagome story! And yes, Inuyasha and Kagome are still the main couple. I have no intentions of changing that.

I tried to make the amount of Kagura in this chapter less than Kagome and Inuyasha parts, but it only managed to become equal… That is another reason why I added the other cliffy onto it. -shakes head-

Anyways, please have patience. I know what I'm doing! Please don't be afraid!

And to make you Inuyasha/Kagome fans feel a bit better, I decided to write my first _To Be Found_ one-shot! It will be all about them and the lessons that involved how Inuyasha learned about "emotions" from her as mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. Be sure to look out for that in the future! And there will be no Kagura/Sesshoumaru in sight (sorry to those fans).

Did _anyone _notice the small "canon" joke I slipped in there?

-Ahem- That was my longest author's note in a while… Before I forget. Please do NOT flame me for the physical abuse that was presented in this chapter. It was necessary to the plotline to include it and I did place a warning in the disclaimer.

With all of that said, thank you for reading!

Please review!

Ja ne!


	12. Friends

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: Heheh… I hope you guys don't hate me for everything that happened in the last chapter!

Kagura: _I_ hate you. -glares-

Turtlequeen2: Beside the characters!

Kagura: I want to cut you up into little pieces… -opens fan-

Turtlequeen2: Ack! Help me, Inuyasha!

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Keh! Why the hell should I? You torture my story self just as much or even more than her!

Turtlequeen2: True… but it's technically not you! Notice the "disclaimer" part before your name.

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: It doesn't matter!

Kagome: Stop it, you two! Just let her continue the story! I'm sure it will work out in the end.

Turtlequeen2: Yeah! I have a goal in this chapter that's positive! …Somewhat.

Kagome: "Somewhat"? Why does that sound bad…?

Turtlequeen2: You'll see! -ducks out of the way of harm- Anyways! I thank the following reviewers: junyortrakr, Inu-midoriko, saphira404, angel-kamui, Diamond369, katana sohma demon-girl, Goldstargirl, bbbbb, petpeeves12, InuXKag_Angel X_Kagz, blueyedevil586, Hatake Kai, Unleash the Bats, natalee4044, and IlonaBliss!

I don't own Inuyasha; the series is Rumiko Takahashi's property.

Thanks to Kouryuu524 for some technical help in this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Friends**

"Uh! Inuyasha!" Kagome growled out of frustration for the fifth time during the day. Her student wanted to continue with one word even though he had already mastered it. "C'mon now…" she groaned pitifully, stomping her foot on the ground for emphasis. How was he supposed to learn anything new if he did not want to move on?

"Keh!" he replied, not giving in to her stomping. He wanted to make sure that the set of characters was perfected before he could continue with something new.

The two would have kept at their stalemate if it was not for the loud knock on the door.

Upon hearing the noisy intrusion, Kagome found herself very thankful. Rushing to the door, she opened it and was met with quite the surprise.

"…_S_-_Sango_-chan?!"

Brown eyes glimmered with amusement as Kagome's roommate invited herself and her companion into the room. "Long time, no see," she greeted with a grin.

"We saw each other this morning…" the younger teacher replied in a dead-pan voice.

Sango only laughed. "I know!"

Kagome looked as if she wanted to explain why that phrase made no sense, but withheld her urge. It was not that important anyway. Shaking her head, she decided to ask, "What are you doing here…?"

Sango continued grinning stupidly. "Would you believe it if I told you that I transferred here?"

Kagome's eyes widened. "No way!" She then took the time to throw her arms around her best friend.

A sudden, but yet, familiar growl brought the younger teacher back to her senses. Turning towards Inuyasha, she walked to him and placed a hand on his arm in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry…"

The older instructor chuckled. "Still struggling with that one, eh?" Looking over at the man standing beside her, she smiled. "Eventually, he could end up like my prodigy over here. This man is always popular with the lady nurses."

The man in question could easily read lips. He knew what the two were talking about and shot them a smirk, his cerulean blue eyes glimmering with amusement.

"I can see why," Kagome giggled, looking him over.

His shoulder-length brown hair was tied back into a pony-tail. For a hospital patient, he was surprisingly built, wearing normal civilian's clothing of a t-shirt and plain black pants.

Sango could not help but roll her eyes at the man's arrogant actions. "Yep, that's Kouga for you; the lady killer," she remarked in a tone full of sarcasm.

"Oh? So his name is Kouga?" Kagome asked, her interest piquing.

"Yes, a name about as strange as Inuyasha, I'd say," the other woman laughed.

"Indeed," Kagome hummed in agreement. She paused and looked between Kouga and Sango. "How much does he know about me?"

"Not much, honestly," Sango answered, turning slightly serious. "I don't usually talk about my personal life as you may already know."

Kagome nodded, knowing what the girl meant. "I was only curious…" she explained. "I just don't want to repeat something he already knows about me, you know?"

Sango's expression turned cheerful once more. "Don't worry. From the looks of it, even if you were repeating something he already knew, he _wouldn't_ mind."

"What do you mean…?" Kagome was confused until the other girl pressed her hands onto her shoulders and made her focus her attention towards Kouga.

The young man took to staring at her with an genuine interest. It was as if he was examining her like a piece of jewelry on display. Even when the young teacher was staring directly back at him, his focus was still entirely on her.

"It looks like my pupil has a crush on you," Sango whispered in her friend's ear, making Kagome's cheeks heat up slightly.

"Eh?" she could only say, not sure if the other instructor was even serious.

"Well, I've been his teacher for a long time and I've never seen him look at a girl like he's wanting to eat her up with that much intensity," the older woman said, half-jokingly.

To add to Kagome's mortified mood, Kouga chose that exact moment to approach her. Taking her slack hands into his own gruff ones, he pulled them up so that they were between their bodies. "Beautiful," he murmured softly while looking at her face.

"S-Sango-chan!" The young woman panicked, completely unsure of what to do as her face darkened several shades of red.

The older woman was prepared to tease the girl until she saw the state Kagome was in. Shaking her head, she went to reach her hand out in order to prevent the spectacle from continuing.

However, a flash of white beat her to the chase. Wondering who it was, Sango soon found the answer in a form of a growl.

As soon as Kouga's scent had entered the room, Inuyasha's sightless eyes had narrowed, unnoticed by the others. Something about the other patient did not sit well with him. Upon feeling the tapping of feet moving and smelling Kagome's scent being mixed with Kouga's, the young man could not hold himself back.

For the mere reason of instantly not being able to trust Kouga, Inuyasha darted himself out to separate the two, managing to shove the other man away from Kagome.

The wolfish looking man narrowed his own eyes in return, not seeing the sense of performing such rough actions. "Who…?" he murmured, continuing to stare at the man.

Kagome blinked, grimacing slightly at the surprisingly harsh shove. Rubbing the sore upper part of her arm where Inuyasha touched, the teacher glanced back at the unfolding scene, her eyes widening. "I-Inuyasha!" she gasped, surprised at his actions and now wondering what she was going to do in order to prevent the man from pummeling the new guest.

Inuyasha was currently "looking" in Kouga's direction with narrowed sightless eyes, letting out another growl in the process. It was obvious that he did not like the new visitor and was preparing to ensure that the man never came back by standing his ground.

The younger teacher let out a groan, glancing over at Sango.

Sango was also shocked at this new development, never expecting her best friend's student to _not_ get along with her own! Moving forward and not wanting any physical fights to break out, she gripped onto her student's arm before Kouga had a chance to raise his fist towards the blind and deaf man. "Don't!" she warned Kouga, tugging on his arm for emphasis.

Though Kouga could not hear, he could easily tell by his teacher's panicked expression and urgency that it was not best for him to fight Inuyasha. Feeling annoyed by this development, he gave his "crush" a wave before making a hasty exit out of the room.

After watching Kouga leave the area, Sango heaved a heavy sigh. Turning around to face her friend, she replied, "I'm sorry about this. I didn't think this would happen…"

Kagome shook her head, still on edge about Inuyasha's continual snarling. "…I-I don't think n-neither of us expected this …" she admitted, her voice trembling due to the aftermath of the event. She then moved closer towards her own student, gently touching his right arm with her hand in order to try and calm him.

Relieved that Kouga had left, Inuyasha tilted his head so that he could focus his attention on his teacher. His eyes still remained narrowed in her direction, feeling annoyance that he did not have the chance to hurt Kouga for invading his room and for daring to cover up Kagome's scent with his own.

Both women became pacified after Inuyasha finally stopped growling. Sango and Kagome knew that in the future, they would have to plan visits more accordingly when it involved the younger woman's pupil.

"Well…" Sango trailed off, following the few seconds of awkward silence. She cast a contemplating glance at the front door which was still left wide open due to Kouga's sudden departure. "I think I should go before Kouga gets himself in trouble…"

"All right, then," Kagome sighed as she removed her hand from Inuyasha's arm. Once the older woman looked back at her, the other teacher moved to embrace Sango before letting her leave.

When the door closed and the familiar vibrations were sent across the floor, Inuyasha noticed that the only scent left in the room was that of Kagome's and his own. It was at this moment that his eyes narrowed in her direction. For reasons unknown to even himself, he found himself irritated with her.

Spotting the glare, Kagome raised her eyebrow. "…Are you mad at me?" she asked out loud. When she reached out her hand to touch his arm again, Inuyasha immediately retracted his limb as if she had burned him. "…Does this have something to do with Kouga?" she murmured, thinking more to herself as she observed his defensive stance.

The young man became frustrated with his own self, causing him to turn away from her. He knew by just scent alone that the intruder was a man and knowing that Kagome was touched by the man set him off. He did not understand why it upset him this much. The woman, as stubborn and kind as she was, was just his teacher! He should not get this worked up about it!

The woman frowned slightly as she tried to figure out what was bothering him. "…Are you upset at what Kouga did to me…?" she questioned while remaining still. Though, despite Inuyasha being angry at her, it seemed more like he was upset at his own self more than at anyone else. The situation puzzled Kagome.

Before he could stop himself, a small snarl escaped his throat at the amount of aggravation he felt. If he underwent annoyance from Kouga touching Kagome, what did that mean for him?

As she stood in silence, contemplating what his problem was, her eyes began to widen. "…C-could it be that Inuyasha's… _jealous_?" she gasped. It was times like this that made her a bit glad that he could not hear her. She then shook her head hard, trying to fight off a blush that wanted to make its way to her cheeks. "Get a hold of yourself, Kagome!" she scolded under her breath. It was impossible for her student to get romantic feelings towards her! Even if he liked her in that way, it was not like she liked him back, right?! She fought off the urge to let out a groan, feeling a headache beginning to form as she continued to remain in her state of denial.

The young man eventually stopped growling and eventually turned around to face Kagome, having a feeling that the woman did not know Kouga before the pest had flirted with her. Since he figured out that Sango was a friend of his teacher's, it was only natural that the idiot who came into his room was the older woman's student. He did not even want to fathom the possibility that Kouga could have been Kagome's romantic partner at this point.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome murmured upon seeing the man's face. She took a hesitant step in his direction. In the least, did she not owe it to him to teach him how to control his emotions? She was well aware of the fact that the young man had trouble expressing himself due to his condition so it was natural that he would not be able to properly limit the intensity of whatever emotion he was currently feeling.

"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted, shaking his head in order to try and rid himself of his anger. He crossed his arms and turned his face away from her yet again. He posed as if he were trying to tell her that he did not care about what she did in her personal life aside from teaching him.

The instructor seemed to have gotten the message by his stance, but knew better than to believe it despite wishing that Inuyasha had not reacted to Kouga in the first place. "I know I should have done something to prevent that from happening…" she murmured before pausing. "Wait…" she began, her eyes narrowing. "Why should I have to defend myself? It's not like we're in a relationship together. If I wanted that to happen, why should I feel like I offended Inuyasha?" Even admitting that to herself did not stop the feelings of guilt she had.

Finally heaving a defeated sigh, Kagome reached her hand out to touch his arm again. Finding relief when her pupil allowed her access, she signed into the open palm that was eventually presented to her.

"**Gomen**, **Inuyasha**," Kagome signed into his hand, feeling the need to apologize to him even though she now felt that there was no need for her to do so. She paused, deciding to slowly sign familiar katakana into his hand. "**Sango**."

The young man furrowed his eyebrows at her. Why was she apologizing to him? Did she think that she had angered him? It bothered him that he had made her feel bad with whatever had came over him earlier. He pulled his hand away and reached over to his teacher's waiting palm. "**Dare desu ka**?" he signed back, assuming that Sango was a person and asked who it was.

"**Tomodachi**," Kagome replied, knowing that Inuyasha knew what a "friend" meant.

Feeling the need to know who Sango was, the student slowly began to sign the other woman's name back to Kagome. "**Sa-n-go**."

"**Hai**," she assured him. "**Kouga** **wa tomodachi ja nai desu**." She then made a point to say that Kouga was not her friend at the moment. Of course she could have specified more, but Inuyasha's vocabulary was still very limited.

Inuyasha blinked as he slowly began to process what Kagome was saying to him. Who was Kouga? Was it that man who came into his room? It had to have been since she was emphasizing that they were not friends! To further fuel his confusion, he found that he felt _happy_ to know that Kouga was no one special to his teacher.

Once she saw her student's expression relax, she let out a sigh. "…We don't want to make this another wasted day," she finally suggested, reaching back over to sign more words into Inuyasha's palm.

After Inuyasha silently agreed to continue their lessons, they kept at their usual routine until another hour passed. However, before Kagome could pack up her things and leave, the young man's hand grasped the woman's wrist tightly, making her tense up.

"I-Inuyasha?" the woman gasped out, caught of guard. "W-what are you doing?" The power behind the grip made her slightly wince with pain, but she made no move to pull away.

Still being mentally plagued with the thought of Kouga and the possibility of the man returning, he turned her palm over to face him. With his other hand, he finger-spelled, "**Kagome**." It was the equivalent of murmuring her name out loud if he had the ability able to do so.

When Inuyasha held out the hand he used to sign with, Kagome immediately replied with, "**Nan desu ka**?" What did her pupil want?

A multitude of emotions splayed across Inuyasha's countenance. Frustration, annoyance, and dread all seemed to blend together into his completion as he contemplated what to tell his teacher. After a few minutes of thinking to himself, he finally finger-spelled, "**Tomodachi**."

"…What are you going on about?" the woman pondered, confused about what he meant.

Again, he signed the word. "**Tomodachi**." After another moment, he added, "**Kagome**."

As he did this several more times, Kagome's eyes widened in realization. "Y-you're asking me to be your friend?" she breathed out, not able to help the small smile that began to form on her lips. Wanting to confirm this, she signed, "**Watashi desu ka**?" Was he truly referring to her?

Inuyasha nodded his friend in her direction before returning, "**Hai**. **Tomodachi**." He resisted the urge to turn his head away from her as a small blush spread across his cheeks. Expressing such words was hard for him to do. It was the first time in years since he had ever asked anyone to become his friend. He could only hope that she would not refuse due to their formal relationship set up by society.

Kagome's smile grew wider when she noticed his blush. "This must be the first time you've been able to do this since you've came here," she murmured, feeling a sense of honor of being the recipient of Inuyasha's hand of friendship. Despite them already acting civil towards each other, it had never been made official until now. Without hesitation, the teacher decided to grant permission for the relationship to grow. "**Hai**. **Kagome wa tomodachi desu**," she finger-spelled. She had accepted being Inuyasha's friend, effectively pushing back the feelings in her conscious that warned that she would only blur boundaries with her student.

After analyzing the katakana that was signed into his palm, Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. She was actually willing to accept him as a friend? This was a new feeling of acceptance and happiness that he had not experienced since he could speak. A smirk spread across his face and before he could stop himself, he jerked Kagome's arm forward even more so that her body would be pulled against his chest.

It was now the teacher's turn to appear shocked as she found herself snug against her student's chest. A dark line of red dusted across her cheeks as she tried to process what was going on. Once she felt warm arms embrace her, her flustered expression only deepened. "I-Inu-y-yasha!" she stuttered out, feeling more embarrassed than ever before due to their new relationship status. Nevertheless, she did not resist his movements and even made to return the hug with the one free arm that was not pressed between their bodies.

Once several minutes passed, Inuyasha eventually pulled away, sporting an equally dark blush. Still, his cheerfulness remained as he let her see a rare smile form on his lips.

When Kagome was able to pull away, her mortified expression deepened slightly when she saw the serene face her student sported. Before her haywire mind could stop itself, she mentally commented that he looked _beautiful_. After the word floated across her head, she shook her head violently to get her logical state to return to her. "He's just your friend!" she scolded to herself, rising to stand. After sucking in a deep, shaky breath, she grabbed her supply bag and placed it over her shoulder. She then gently laid a hand on Inuyasha's left shoulder in her usual, silent gesture to signify her departure.

Inuyasha's happy expression left him once he figured that Kagome was going to leave. As much as he hated to admit to himself, he never did like it when she left nowadays. Aside from the other annoying intruders into his room during the day, she was the always part of the few hours he looked forward to the most. Despite knowing this, he made no moves to stop her and sat still until the vibrations from a shut metal door were sent across the floor and under his feet.

The instructor let out another shaky breath once she was on the other side of the door. Leaning back on the metal structure in order to give her body support, her flustered expression returned with added measure. Placing a hand on her chest, she felt her heart pound against her rib cage as if it were sent into a crazed frenzy. What the hell was wrong with her?

* * *

While Kagome was dealing with her latest episode with Inuyasha, Sango had to put up with her own issues. After finding Kouga and calming his temper, the two went back to the young man's room and finished their daily lessons. She knew now not to take her student around Kagome unless Inuyasha was not around.

"Bye," she called out to her pupil, adding in a wave for emphasis.

Being able to read lips, Kouga nodded his head with understanding. "See ya," he spoke with his subtle deaf accent in place.

Holding her supply bag in her right hand, Sango gave him a slight bow before exiting the room and shutting the heavy door behind her. Once in the hallway, she started to make her way through the winding corridors in order to get to the front desk.

However, due to her haste, she failed to notice an intern doctor passing through with a medical cart. The intern failed to notice a wet floor sign and began to slip on the slick surface, causing him to fall forward and lose control of the cart. The large contraption then began to speed recklessly down the hall, in the direct path of Sango!

By the time the woman noticed what was headed in her direction, she knew that it was too close and that there was no time to dodge it. Waiting for the inevitable, Sango clenched her eyes shut and prepared for impact.

She heard a loud _bang_ followed by a low groan of pain, but noticed that nothing had hit her. Opening her eyes cautiously, half-expecting the hit to still occur once she _did_ see what was going on, they quickly widened to see a familiar man standing in her way.

Seeing the short black hair pulled back into the familiar rattail compelled her to gasp out, "I-Isha-sensei?"

As if to confirm her words, the young doctor let out a laugh and clutched his left shoulder with his free hand. Turning to face the woman after pushing the cart out of the way, he asked, "Are you all right, Sango-sama?"

"Y-Yeah…" she murmured, still started by the event. Staring up at the white-coat-covered arm that Miroku was holding, she let out a gasp when she saw crimson begin to leak through it. "Y-you're bleeding!" Glancing down at his arm, he let out another chuckle before wincing for exerting his energy. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine after I get a few bandages in place," he assured her.

"But…" the instructor trailed off, not feeling good about leaving the man to find help by himself after saving her from injury. Steeling her resolve, her eyes narrowed as she looked up at him with a serious countenance in place. "I'll dress your wounds for you."

Miroku raised his eyebrow. "…Are you sure? I could just do it myself being a medical professional and all…"

"Yes, I'm _sure_," Sango confirmed with narrowing eyes. It was as if she were challenging him to continue arguing with her.

Cringing at her intimidating expression, he then heaved a defeated sigh. "All right, if you insist…" Letting go of his bleeding shoulder for a moment, he dug out a ring of keys from his coat pocket and handed them to the woman. "Look for the biggest key and then head to Room 209," he instructed.

Doing as he said, Sango grabbed onto the key with one hand and held onto her bag with the other. Glancing around her, she noticed that they were already on the correct floor due to the numbers plastered on the doors in the hallway. After going to the end of the hallway and making a right turn, the pair stood in front of an empty hospital room. Once putting the key in the lock and twisting it, the pair was led into the seemingly normal patient area.

Miroku reached over with his uninjured arm and switched the light on. Moving to sit on the front edge of the hospital bed, he explained, "There's gauze and bandages in the cabinet above the sink."

"Right," Sango replied, walking over to gather some supplies and sitting them on a table beside the bed. She then helped remove the doctor's white coat and formal button-up shirt before stopping to momentarily look over the damage that was done. "…This is a large cut…" she murmured, trying not to show the surprise she felt.

The young man idly glanced down at the cut that formed and could not have agreed more. All the way across the front of his left upper arm was a long slice through the flesh, pouring out streams of blood. Surrounding the cut was a dark red gash of irritation that stretched up to his shoulder.

Gathering up a disposable cloth she grabbed from her pile of supplies and soaking it in water, the teacher began to carefully apply the cloth to the wound and wipe the blood away. Once the drying blood was removed, Sango grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and began to apply the liquid in order to prevent an infection from forming.

Every form of pressure placed on the wound made Miroku cringe instinctively. Biting his lip lightly, he prevented himself from groaning out in pain. It seemed that the bruise made the cut hurt that much more.

Sango's eyes momentarily glanced up at the doctor, the dark hue flashing apology for his pain as she grabbed some gauze to place against the cut before beginning to wrap it in extensive bandaging.

"…Are you sure you weren't trained to become a nurse instead?" the young man teased before wincing due to how she tightly bound the cloth together.

Once she was finished with covering up his wound, Sango placed what she did not use back where they were found. "I was only trained to do basic things," the instructor answered as if it was obvious enough by that point in time. "It's a requirement to have when being trained."

"Ah," Miroku murmured, soaking up the information. "It's not surprising then."

The young woman averted her head from his warm gaze, grumbling under her breath irritably before sighing. "…Thank you for sacrificing yourself for me…" she mumbled. It was if she was fighting with herself on if she would give him the satisfaction of knowing how appreciative she was of his actions.

The doctor gave her another smile as he pulled his shirt back into place and carefully placed on his coat. "Like I said; don't worry about me," he replied cheerfully. "If given the chance again, I would gladly do it over."

Sango blinked up at the man, her eyes flashing confusion. "Why?" she could not help but ask.

"I like you, Sango-sama," Miroku admitted with a laugh. "There's a lot more than me than being a perverted doctor as you and Kagome-sama obviously believe."

The girl could not help but feel her cheeks heat up at his explanation. Not wanting him to see her blush, she turned her head away from him. "…Regardless," she began. "…I feel indebted to you."

Miroku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But you've already bandaged me," he pointed out innocently. "I think your debt is already repaid even if I had requested it in the first place…"

Thinking to herself some more, she added, "And you don't have to call me 'Sango-sama' anymore. Using '-san' at the end of the my name will work just fine."

The doctor's smile grew at her words, happy that it seemed like she was warming up to him even if it was by a little bit. "I'll be sure to do that, Sango-_san_," he remarked.

Sango shook her head, wanting to get back on topic. "Anyways, I still feel like I owe you something in return," she replied. "My conscious won't leave me alone until I pay you back somehow."

" 'It won't' ?" the doctor echoed in a questioning tone. He sat in silence for a few moments until an idea sparked in his mind. "Ah! Actually, I _do _have something you could do for me!" he gasped, looking as if he had gotten the best idea in the world.

"What is it?" the teacher pondered, sounding on edge and hoping that it would not be something perverted.

Noticing the woman's change in her tone, Miroku's expression shifted into seriousness. "Well, there's a gala I'm required to go to next week…" he began. "It's for doctors from around Tokyo but it's also a _couple's _gala."

Sango tilted her head slightly, growing curious. "Why volunteer yourself to go if you're obviously not with anyone?" she pressed, not getting his logic.

Using his uninjured arm, the doctor nervously scratched the back of his head and let out a laugh. "Well… you see…" he began.

The teacher rolled her eyes, already knowing his response. "Let me guess," she cut in. "You were planning to ask out one of those pretty nurses and expected one of them to say 'yes'."

Miroku scoffed, acting as if she had said something offensive. "Of course not!" he replied. "I wouldn't limit myself to _just_ nurses!"

Sango's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "And so you're asking me only because I feel indebted to you?" she questioned.

"You _did _say that your conscious wouldn't leave you alone until you paid me back…" the doctor pointed out as he got off of the bed and rose to stand beside her. "Those were _your_ words; not mine."

"I'm aware of that fact, but why ask me to do _that _in particular?" the young woman pressed, lifting her eyebrow.

Miroku flashed the teacher a confidant smile. "Well, if I went with _you _in particular, I'm pretty sure I could make a lot of people envious."

In an instant, Sango's cheeks heated up again. "…Y-you can't be serious!" she stuttered out, wanting to avert her eyes from his face but found that she could not.

"But I am!" the doctor chuckled innocently. "Whether or not you take me seriously, I think you're a very beautiful woman, Sango-san." Making his expression serious before Sango could say anything else to protest, he added, "If you go with me next week, you can get my injury off of your conscious. I would also like to add that you don't even have to consider it a date. It can just be an outing between two friends."

" 'Friends'?" Sango echoed. The woman bit down on her lower lip, turning her head away from Miroku in order to think and diminish her blush. After thinking over the doctor's proposition, she let out a sigh and turned back around to face him. Her brown eyes burned with certainty as she stated, "I will go with you but _only_ as a friend." She made sure to add emphasis to the "only" so that he would know her intentions.

Miroku felt a grin come over his features, clearly happy with this new development. "Great!" he chirped, leading the way towards the door of the room. Pulling the door open with his unharmed arm, he momentarily turned back to add, "I'll tell you about the details later in the week."

Letting out a sigh as she followed him out into the hallway, the instructor murmured, "Good."

Still in high spirits, the doctor waved to her, preparing to leave the area. "I have to get back to work so I'll talk to you soon!"

"Right," Sango responded, forcing a small smile of her own. "Goodbye." As soon as she was by herself, she let out a heavy breath. Making her way towards the front desk, she grumbled under her breath. "Why do I feel like I got into something more than I bargained for…?"

* * *

Two Days Later

* * *

"…Honestly, I don't get why Sesshoumaru-sama went through so much trouble for this woman…" a familiar servant grumbled under his breath as he set aside a glass of water on a bed stand.

His words were barely audible to the woman laying the large bed next to him. Since she was laying on her stomach, her face was facing the wall. Her lips twitched into a frown, looking as if she had heard something annoying. It's was _just_ Sesshoumaru's annoying servant after all. However, as soon as the thought floated across her mind, her hazel eyes shot wide open.

She made an attempt to move her arms so that she could push herself up, but immediately stopped as soon as acute burning pain shot up her back.

Noticing the fidgetting in the bed, Jaken turned his eyes towards Kagura and scoffed. "So you're awake now?" he rudely addressed, still irritated at the fact that Sesshoumaru even bothered to keep her in the house.

Kagura slowly turned her head to give the servant a glare, but found that the smoldering sensation in her back prevented her from looking intimidating. "…W-where…am I?" she demanded, trying not to let out a whimper as the full punch of the agony began to kick in and throb through her body like a drum.

"You've been in Sesshoumaru-sama's house for the past two days," Jaken curtly replied, sounding surprised that she had not made the connections yet.

The woman's eyes widened. "_What_?!" she practically shrieked, pushing herself up to her elbows before immediately regretting her actions. Scorching agony, as if she had finished ramming her back into sharp corner of a flame-engulfed dresser, jolted up her back, making her elbows collapse underneath of her. All of the energy she had exerted was gone in an instant and she bit her bottom lip sharply to prevent letting out a shout of pain.

Jaken shook his head, showing only a second's notice of pity before sighing. "Quit moving if you want to heal properly," he ordered.

Kagura would have answered if not for the second wave of duller pain riding up her back in throbs of burning, invisible fire.

Noticing her grimace, the servant reached over to offer her a few white pills.

"…W-what…are those?" Kagura wheezed out, ignoring the sweat that began to drip down her forehead.

"Aspirin," Jaken stated as if it was common fact.

"D-do…I _look _like I'm in the…c-condition to use my arms?" the woman half-snapped, noting how his hands were held out to her.

Before the servant could say anything more, another voice invaded the room.

"I see that you're finally awake…"

The young woman's eyes widened again upon hearing the familiar deep voice. "S-Sesshoumaru…" she murmured before her expression changed into that of irritation as she put the full weight of her head on the pillow beneath her.

The business man approached the side of the bed, standing beside Jaken and peering down at her miserable condition. "I see that Jaken has followed the doctor's orders regarding leaving any extra cloth on your back…" he commented in an observatory tone of approval.

Kagura blinked, the throbbing pain growing duller until lowering down to a numb sensation. It was then that she could just barely make out the feeling of a thin sheet of clingy cloth sticking to her back and nothing else. She also noticed something else that caused her cheeks to flush slightly. Aside from the feeling of the sheets on the bed, her entire chest and stomach was uncovered with any type of clothing. Just who the hell removed her clothes and how much did Sesshoumaru see?

Upon seeing the range of emotions flash across her face like pages turning in a book, Sesshoumaru remarked, "I called a doctor to help assist you in your injuries. Since you were in obvious pain, he gave you sedatives while he treated your other wounds."

"…How did I get here?" she quietly asked, pushing back her obvious distaste for the man for the time being as she glanced up at him with just her eyes. "I obviously couldn't walk."

"You were dropped off," Sesshoumaru bluntly explained, his tone as cold as ever. "I believe it was your brother who left you on my doorstep with a letter in your hand."

Vaguely recalling what happened before she blacked out, she knew who he was referring to. "Byakuya…" she muttered. "…Where is he?" Looking up at the man with a duller form of the usual fierceness reflecting in her eyes, she demanded, "Do you know where he went after dropping me off?"

"I wouldn't know," the older man replied. "He just made an assumption that I would prevent you from dying and took off without any sort of hint."

Kagura resisted the urge to snort, trying her best to ignore any pain from slight bodily twitches. "And yet his assumption was right since I'm apparently laying in your bed with gauze attached to my back," she drawled out in a heavily sarcastic tone. She could feel the bandages on her face and neck to cover up any cuts left behind and knew that she was supporting a few sore welts and bruises from the hits she had to endure.

"It seems apparent that your normal personality is returning…" Sesshoumaru commented dryly, growing annoyed with her attitude quickly.

"The sooner I recover, the sooner I can leave this place," she snorted curtly.

"H-how dare you speak to Sesshoumaru-sama with such disrespect!" Jaken squawked, cutting into the conversation. "If it wasn't for him, you'd be dead!"

Kagura mildly glared at the servant before replying, "I didn't ask for his help!" Thinking about it some more, she added, "Hell, I wasn't even aware that I was in his house until about five minutes ago!"

Before the old man could argue further, Sesshoumaru cut in with booming authority. "Jaken!" he stated firmly.

"Y-yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" the bumbling servant stuttered, his eyes looking up at his boss with fear in them.

"Go check on Rin," Sesshoumaru ordered. "The last time I passed by her, she was awake."

"Right!" Jaken chirped, hurrying out of the room and leaving the cold man alone with Kagura.

" 'Rin'?" the woman echoed, raising an eyebrow at Sesshoumaru. The last time she checked, he lived alone with a servant. Since when did he take in another person?

Deciding to ignore her inquiry for the time being, he demanded, "When you get better, where do you intend to go?"

His violet eyes blazed with an emotion Kagura could not quite figure out. Giving up on trying to find out what he was thinking about, she watched for him to continue.

"Aside from your family status, it doesn't seem obvious that you have many talents suitable for a decent job. When you leave this place, you will essentially be homeless with little to no money."

Kagura glared up at the man. "How would you know that I have no money?" she snapped.

"I'll answer your question with another question," Sesshoumaru interjected with the smoothness that only a business man could carry. "Who was the one who did this to you?"

Her glare dissolved in an instant, unsure of what to say to him. Would it come back to bite her later if she told him the truth right off the bat?

"Naraku, right?" the older man suddenly guessed, drawing his own conclusions when he saw the shift in her countenance.

Kagura took a sharp intake of breath before cringing since her back moved as soon as her chest pushed outward. "…H-how did you…?" she stuttered out, not seeing any point in arguing back about that fact.

"I knew you disliked him for _certain _reasons and he doesn't seem like the fatherly type of figure," Sesshoumaru explained, resisting the urge to shrug. He said it like it was common fact to anyone.

The woman frowned, resisting the temptation to avert her gaze from him. "I see…" she murmured in a softer voice, sounding almost ashamed that he figured it out.

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly. "As I was saying, assuming that Naraku did this to you, you won't get any help from him if you don't have any intentions of going back," he explained.

Kagura's expression hardened at the thought of returning. "That bastard will have to drag me back kicking and screaming," she growled, the ebbing of passion returning to her eyes as she spoke.

"As I thought," the older man responded with a nod of his head.

"So, what solution do you offer me since you just shot down my other options with your annoying logic?" Kagura bitterly retorted back. Despite how much he irritated her, she knew that he was right about everything.

"It can't be helped…" Sesshoumaru half-sighed, also sounding annoyed due to the words he planned to utter next. "Until you can get back on your feet both literally and financially, you'll have to stay here." Raising an eyebrow, his countenance flashed rare curiosity. "Unless you have another idea?"

"No… not really," she grumbled irritably, hating the hand that fate had dealt her.

Turning his body towards the door, the business man instructed, "If you need anything, yell for Jaken." Before she could reply to his vague orders, he left the room and left the door open in case she would need something at a later time.

Kagura rolled her eyes, idly wondering why she could not just get Sesshoumaru's attention if he was close by. Being careful not to move her body, she shifted her head to the other side since she felt her neck stiffen up due to holding the same uncomfortable position for so long. "Dammit…" she cursed, thinking over her situation. "Why do I have to live in Sesshoumaru's house?" Of all of the other people she could have stayed with other than with her father, Sesshoumaru was certainly last on her list.

She knew one thing for certain: staying at the cold man's house would risk her undoing.

* * *

A/N: Ah! I know this chapter is waaaay overdue. College and horrible writer's block is to blame this time around. I really have no intention to give up on this story because I love the plot so much. I hope you guys haven't all given up on me.

Though, I would say that the release of this story has very appropriate timing. Think of it as a holiday present.

And yes, I'm going to start putting in a bit more San/Mir stuff for those fans. And since Inu/Kago is the main pairing for this fic, I purposely made their part larger for this chapter to apologize for the long wait.

As for the new name, Isha-sensei, I finally figured out the doctor's equivalent of "Houshi-sama." In Japanese, professionals like lawyers, doctors, and teachers are all labeled with "sensei" and doctor is "isha," hence the nickname. From here on out, Sango will call Miroku by this title and I'll eventually go back and edit it in the previous chapters.

Since I started taking Japanese in college, my Japanese vocab has increased in amount as you can tell by the bold words in this chapter. As I've said before, once Inuyasha knows enough, I'll switch the bold words to English.

Also, pretty soon, I will start jumping large gaps of time. I would just like to forewarn you all of this because there will be a point where I want Inuyasha to begin speaking (that's right, speaking words out loud!) and I can't do it within a week he learns most of the words he needs to learn. It would take years to master and I don't want this fic to turn into a one hundred chapter fic (though, I'm not sure if some of you would mind that or not) that is very repetitive.

Assuming I don't take another year to write the next chapter, the next one will most likely have more San/Mir moments. Though... A new development happens to Shippou! How will Kagome react to it?!

Please review! (And please don't flame because of the wait)

Ja ne!


	13. Protection

**Disclaimer:**

Turtlequeen2: How did you like the last chapter?

Shippou: Hey! How come I haven't been in a chapter for a while?

Turtlequeen2: Oh, relax! You'll be in this one!

Shippou: Really? -eyes light up-

Turtlequeen2: Yep! -coughs- Though, I don't guarantee your happiness… -cough-

Shippou: -blinks- Wait… what?

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Oh great… another victim of your torture in this story! Will you ever stop?

Turtlequeen2: -silence-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: You're a cruel, cruel person…

Turtlequeen2: -laughs nervously- Anyways! I'd like to thank the following reviewers: blueyedevil586, angel-kamui, xXxDarkFairyxXx, HeidiBax, kagome past and present, junyortrakr, katana sohma-demon girl, Luna Rain Glimmer, Reads-way-2-much, and AsianDelicacy!

Much thanks to AsianDelicacy for taking the time to review every chapter!

I don't own the Inuyasha cast. I only torture them. -cough-

Disclaimer!Inuyasha: Hey! I heard that!

**

* * *

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**Chapter 12**

**Protection**

It had been a week since Kagura had come to stay in Sesshoumaru's house and she honestly could not remember what had happened during the last few days since she was so hyped up on pain killers. Other than the day where she first learned that she was in the house, the rest of the week was a blur to her.

Now being able to move her arms without as much stinging agony going to her back, Kagura was able to reach for her own food and drinks if need be. She was very thankful for it since she no longer had to rely on Jaken to feed her. It seemed that each time they were forced to spend time together, they would always end up in some type of argument even if she could not barely remember what they were about.

"Damn…" she murmured sorely. "This is such a pain in the ass." Aside from Jaken, no one else came to her room. Even when Sesshoumaru was home, he avoided seeing her, being either too busy or not in the mood to deal with her "attitude." She could not say that she missed living with her family. She was actually _happy _to be away from that place. Though, now, with no one around to interact with her, she experiencing a level of boredom that made her tempted to count how many striped prints were embroidered in the sheets on her bed. She was sure there were hundreds.

As the young woman contemplated what she could do in order to entertain herself, a sudden shout made her tense up immediately. Of course, she quickly regretted any sudden movements as invisible liquid fire shot up her back and made tears sting the back of her eyes. "God, what the hell is going on out there….?" she growled after she recovered herself, now irritated that she allowed herself to be startled despite her bedridden condition.

The shout was heard again, but she thankfully knew not to react in the same way. Remaining still, she concentrated her mind on trying to figure out what the yelling was all about.

"…Rin!" came the distant cry of a frustrated servant.

The cry got louder. "_Rin_!"

Kagura frowned. "…Is that the name of the girl that annoying idiot mentioned earlier?" she murmured to herself.

"Get back here, Rin!" Jaken shouted, the volume of his voice increasing as he neared the door.

In an instant, the door to Kagura's room slammed open before closing again. The shuffling of furniture could be heard being pushed against the entrance before Jaken's muffled voice yelled once more.

"Open up the door this instant!" The poor servant could only solve to pounding on the door.

Kagura found that her eye twitched as her irritation rose. Ever so slowly, she rose herself onto her elbows and turned her head as far as she could before growling out, "Would you shut the hell up for a few seconds?" in the direction of the door. Due to the constrictions of how far back her neck could go, she could not even see Rin or the door which were both in the far corner of the room. Geez, was peace and quiet too much to ask for?

Jaken scoffed from the other side. "Sesshoumaru-sama specifically told me to take care of Rin and that's what I'm _trying_ to do!"

The girl in question cringed when the older woman practically screamed in her direction. "…I don't want to take that medicine!" she declared childishly, turning back towards the wooden structure that separated her from her caretaker. "It makes me have nightmares!"

The servant let out an annoyed huff. "If you don't take it, you'll end up being in pain! Do you want that?"

"I'd rather be in pain than have more nightmares!" Rin declared stubbornly.

Jaken let out a growl. "Fine!" he indignantly declared while throwing up his hands in defeat. "You can stay in there for all I care!"

The girl stuck her tongue out towards the door despite the servant not being able to see it.

Kagura was relieved when she knew that Jaken had finally left. "God, he's like a fucking car alarm that never turns off," she grumbled under her breath as she turned back around and allowed her full weight to rest on the bed again.

Rin fell silent and rotated herself to see the older woman laying in the bed, obviously not looking to be in the best of conditions. Slowly and cautiously, she began to move forward and out of Kagura's blind spot. "…Um…" she quietly murmured, stopping when she stood beside where the woman's head was.

Kagura blinked up at the small girl. "…I'm just going to take a wild stab at this, but…" she trailed off in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your name's Rin, right?"

The girl nodded her head. "…Who are you?" she decided to bluntly question, never being in the room before this time.

The woman heaved an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes. "Of course, Sesshoumaru wouldn't bother to waste his breath talking to people about how I'm practically living with him…" she murmured. She then shook her head slightly, trying her best not to be _too_ bitter in front of the innocent child. "I've been staying here for the past week. My name's Morikawa Kagura," she added in a less aggravated tone.

Rin then let out a gasp of realization. "So _that's _why Jaken-sama kept going into this room!" she declared. "He's been taking care of you, right?"

Kagura managed as good a nod as she could with her head being as close to the mattress as it was. "I guess you could say that…" she replied, trying to say nice things about the annoying servant she obviously did not like. She found that it was very hard to do. "He hasn't killed me yet so I suppose I should be happy about that."

The child suddenly tensed up, her face twisting up in agony. Thinking fast, she made a grab for a chair that was left by the desk adjacent to the bed. Using the wooden chair as a brace, she leaned onto it as she pushed it to Kagura's bedside and slowly took a seat.

Kagura tilted her face up so that she could have a clear look at Rin. A small frown marred her face as she began to realize how badly injured the child truly was.

Stitches went across the girl's left cheek while fading bruises and scars spotted the rest of her countenance. The exposed skin on her arms were also covered with fading cuts and a few stitches here and there. Kagura could not even see far enough down to figure out how badly injured the rest of the girl's body appeared.

"You had a rough night, too?" Kagura remarked half-jokingly, having no clue what had happened to the orphan.

In an instant, Rin's head bowed, her brown bangs shielding her eyes. "…My parents were killed by robbers," she whispered in a voice that was enough to make even the coldest of hearts crack. "…I was the only one who survived."

Quickly realizing her mistake, the young woman's eyes widened. She bolted onto her elbows in such a jerky movement that she could not help but let out a curse. '_Dammit_!' She thought to herself as a short yelp was a mixture of pain was let out. Letting out a shaky breath to steady herself, the woman then murmured, "I apologize. I wasn't aware of what happened to you…"

The child shook her head, taking a fragile arm to wipe her eyes as if it were a makeshift handkerchief. "I-I'm not mad at you…" she replied.

Kagura withheld her sigh of relief and relaxed her body. "I'm glad, then…" she remarked. Forcing out a smirk, she added, "At least I know I'm no longer the only girl in this crazy house."

Seeing Kagura's smirk seemed to ease Rin's sadness a bit. After giving a small sniffle, she exposed her eyes again. "So… what happened to Kagura-sama?"

The young woman immediately furrowed her eyebrows at the title added at the end of her name. "Just Kagura is fine," she corrected.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Rin quietly responded, quickly correcting herself. "What happened to Kagura?"

Kagura sighed. "It's a very long and complicated story that I'm sure that children wouldn't be able to completely understand…" she began.

"I'd be interested to know about it!" the child chirped innocently.

"You would, huh?" Kagura chuckled, giving a smirk of bitterness. "Well, what happened to me is a great example of _horrible_ parenting."

" 'Horrible' parenting?" Rin echoed, her voice colored with deep confusion. It was as if she did not believe in such a concept.

"Yeah, there is such a thing," Kagura responded. "Though, I'd rather not talk about it with you at the moment, to be honest." From what she could tell, Rin's memories of her parents were still very fresh in her mind and her own story would not help the girl recover at all.

Rin's face fell, showing disappointment. "Okay…" she mumbled.

"Look," Kagura began, finding that seeing a child look so distraught over her words bothered her. "Depending on how long we both stay here for, I'll tell you eventually, all right?"

The child's countenance lit up like someone flicking a light bulb on. "Okay!" It was amazing how such simple words could make a kid smile.

Kagura shook her head. She did not understand how wanting to know about her story could make anyone beam. "So… are you planning to just stay in here all day?" she finally questioned after silence had consumed them for several minutes.

"I don't want to go out there until Sesshoumaru-sama comes back!" Rin suddenly declared, determination burning in her eyes.

"…That's gonna be a while from now…" the woman grumbled sarcastically. Blinking away her cynicism, she pondered, "What are you going to do until then?"

"…Could I stay and talk with Kagura?" the child replied. "I don't feel as comfortable talking with Jaken-sama…"

Kagura could not help the genuine snicker that escaped her when she heard those words. "You're not the only one who feels that way, trust me," she stated. She could already tell that this was the beginning of a very odd friendship.

* * *

Sango had wondered what possessed her to do agree with Miroku's request throughout the day. While putting on her dress and allow Kagome to assist in pinning up her hair, the young woman pondered about why she said yes to such a ludicrous suggestion. While getting into the black, style Japanese-made car and idly taking part in the conversation with the doctor, she wondered why she agreed to do such a thing. Upon arriving at the lavish retreat and stepping out of the car with the help of Miroku's hand, Sango sucked in a deep breath and tried her best to pay no mind to the affluent couples around her.

"You're not nervous, are you?" Miroku asked with a teasing smirk, his hold over her hand lingering even after shutting the door of the car and locking it with a button on his key ring.

The teacher felt more defensive about herself than usual as she quickly pulled her hand out from his. "No, of course not!" she declared. "Why would I be?" She sounded as if he had offended her in some way.

The doctor let out a nervous laugh and led the way into the gala with the teacher close behind. Once they entered the building and met with the receptionist, heads turned as the pair entered the main ballroom of the event.

Though the pair looked like they stepped out of a magazine photo shoot, Miroku was the more plain of the two. The doctor's hair was combed back even more than usual while he sported a black and white suit that was customary for the type of party.

Sango, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Her hair was pinned up into an elegant bun with small strands of her hair curled around to frame her face. A sparkling violet flower hair ornament was enough to keep it all in tack as they continued to walk. Her dress a matching dark violet skin-tight party gown that reached down to her knees. A slit was made up to mid-thigh on her left side, dangerously close to exposing the laced tops of her tan stockings. The thin black straps that kept her cleavage in check crisscrossed around her neck and connected to the cloth that exposed a section of her pale back. In one phrase, the young woman looked dressed to kill.

Though despite looking the part, the girl was definitely not prepared for the reactions that she got for wearing such a beautiful piece of work. She felt as if all of the men were eyeing her like hawks while the women seemed to glare at her condescendingly. Out of nervousness, she grabbed a hold of Miroku's hand as they continued into the room. "…Um, Isha-sensei…" she murmured. "…This seems a bit awkward…"

The doctor gave her hand a light squeeze back, inwardly celebrating since he had since figured out that he was now at the gala with the most beautiful girl in attendance. However, such emotions did not make their way onto his face as he turned to smile at her. "We'll be fine. I promise," he assured her. "Just follow my lead."

"O-okay…" she replied. She idly hoped that they would not be at the gala for very long. Her five inch black heels were not planning to stay kind to her feet after another two hours.

"Another thing…" Miroku began. "Since we're supposed to be like a couple, it would be nice if you could just call me by my name at least until after we leave…"

Sango almost frowned at this. Using his name? What had she gotten herself into? Letting out a sigh, she nodded her head. "Fine…"

"Great!" the older man chirped, tightening his hold over her hand so that he could lead her towards a group of familiar doctors he spotted by the back doors.

"Hey, Tsujitani-san!" the leader of the group greeted with a smile. The man was also dressed up in a suit and had his arm around the waist of his date.

"Nobu-san!" Miroku replied. "It's nice to see you again!" Glancing over at Sango, he gently pulled her up in front of him. "This is the beauty I met at the center I work at." His smile widened at his last sentence.

Upon hearing the word "beauty," a light blush dusted the woman's face. She then managed a respectful bow before introducing herself. "My name's Kuwashima Sango."

"Pleased to meet you, Kuwashima-san," Nobu responded, returning the bow. Looking at the woman beside him, he added, "This is my wife, Kumiko."

After a while of uneasiness, Sango eventually got into the swing of things. With each new person that Miroku introduced her to, she grew more social. By the time they had walked away from the event, it was as if the young woman was the main attraction as opposed to the doctor himself.

Miroku grinned at the teacher, clearly impressed as he walked with her towards his car. "I never knew that you were such a charismatic person," he remarked. "You were practically the most popular woman there."

Sango almost averted her eyes from him, suddenly feeling embarrassed by his comment. "W-well, I kind of have to have people skills due to the nature of my job… I was just nervous at first due to the setting…"

The older man chuckled. "Since you're always so serious, I also never expected you to pick out such a _revealing _dress…"

The teacher's cheeks practically flamed red at the mention of the dress. "Well…t-this was actually Kagome-chan's idea…"

To this, Miroku let out an outright laugh. "Why would she suggest a dress like that?"

"…W-well, we kind of had a bet to see if she could teach Inuyasha a new phrase within a day…" Sango began. "…If she couldn't, she'd let me wear whatever I wanted, but if she could, she would get to pick out the dress for me."

The doctor shook his head. "I never knew that she had such a side to her." He then smiled in a more gentle manner. "Well, no matter the reason, the dress really suits you."

"T-thank you…" Sango then paused, remembering the type of person he was. "…I think…"

Once the two were within sight of the car, Miroku averted his head when he heard a few more of his colleagues calling him over for more last minute conversations. He then turned back towards Sango. "Do you mind?" he questioned.

The young woman shook her head. "I'll just wait by the car," she replied, continuing to head towards the car until stopping in front of the door to the passenger's side. She then idly watched as Miroku stood with his friends and talked about various things.

However, what the teacher failed to detect were the three men that closed in around her from behind. By the time she had noticed, she found herself trapped in place.

"Hey, beauty," the tallest of the three slurred, clearly sounding as if he had one too many drinks from the bar. "Why are you out here all alone? Do you need a ride home?"

Sango's eyes narrowed at the men, trying her best not to show the ebbing of fear that began to form in the back of her mind. From their casual wear of jeans and shirts, she was able to figure out that they had wandered onto the parking lot from some other place nearby. "No thank you," she began in as calm a voice as she could manage. "I already have a ride home."

Another man dared to move around the front of the car so that he stood on the other side of her. "There's no one around here," he pointed out.

Not wanting to get into any trouble, Sango immediately blurted out, "I'm here with my boyfriend so I would appreciate it if you left me alone."

As if on cue, Miroku had left his circle of friends and turned towards his car only to see Sango being hounded by strange men. Deciding to be mindful at first, he approached them calmly. "Is there something wrong here, gentlemen?"

Sango's face shown relief upon seeing the doctor, but her eyes reflected panic.

"You mean this lame guy's your boyfriend?" the tallest of them remarked before the three men laughed.

Catching onto Sango's panicked expression and the men's words, Miroku quickly knew to play along for the time being. Keeping a straight face, he responded, "Yes, this is my girlfriend so I'd appreciate it if you left her alone." His eyes narrowed at the men and moved forward in order to reach for Sango's hand.

However, before the woman could take the hand, another hand pulled back on her left wrist. Looking back, she found that it was the quieter one of the three. While she stared back at him, the letch even went as far as to grope her backside!

"C'mon! You can do better than this guy! Let us show you some real fun!" the man declared with a perverted grin in place.

Sango had finally had it with these men! Already having a low tolerance for perverted men, the fact that one had just touched her without her permission made her furious! Reaching her right arm around to her left side, she then twisted around her left wrist so that the man's grip could loosen. Once that was done, her she used her right hand to grip onto the man's own arm before pushing forward her weight to completely flip him over her shoulder!

Luckily there was no car parked in the parking spot next to them so the man only landed with a loud smack against the pavement. The man in question stared up at the glaring woman with fear in his wide eyes. It was as of he were looking at a demon! After he let out a groan of pain and got to his feet, him and his other cronies quickly made their disgraceful escape.

With the idiots gone, Sango let out a snort. "Those damn drunken perverts!" she growled. "I hope that will teach them to keep their hands to themselves in the future!"

Miroku stood by with his mouth agape, inwardly thanking his lucky stars that he had never inappropriately touched her. Despite how Sango may have appeared like a dainty woman, he now knew that she definitely was not of the sort.

Noticing the doctor's shocked expression, Sango let out a sigh. "Are we going to leave or are you going to gape at me all night?"

Instead of directly answering her, Miroku gasped out, "Don't tell me you learned _that _in the school you were trained in!"

It was then that the young woman chuckled slightly. "Of course not," she began before smirking. It was the type of smirk a villain could have before revealing their evil plot. "…But it does help when your father was a former mixed martial arts instructor."

The doctor could not help the involuntary shiver that ran down his spine at her answer. "Impressive…" he commented. "I never would have suspected it." Finally glancing at the keys in his hand, he went to unlock the car and waited for her to get in from her side before following suit. Once the car was out on the road, he decided to ask a question that was pricking the back of his mind. "So… why did you tell them that I was your boyfriend?"

Suddenly, to Sango, her lap became extremely interesting to stare it. A deep crimson dusted her cheeks as she worked up the urge to explain herself. "W-well… I was j-just thinking of a way to g-get them to leave me alone…" Sucking in a deep breath, she willed herself to stop stuttering like a high school girl. "I thought that if they knew I wasn't single, they would leave me alone…"

"Ah…I see…" Miroku murmured with a smile as he kept his eyes on the road.

"…T-thank you…" she then remarked to him in a timid tone.

"For what?" He found himself confused again. Why did she need to thank him for? After all, she was the one who ultimately got them to leave her alone.

"…You didn't deny my lie and you tried to help me," the young woman explained as if it were common sense he should have known already.

The doctor snickered at her words. "Maybe it was because I liked the lie a little _too _much?" he admitted in a teasing voice. Despite how much he would have loved to say that he was just going along with her plan, a part of him had to admit that it felt nice to be referred to as Sango's "boyfriend."

Sango flushed red again. "W-well, don't get used to it!" she sputtered.

Miroku continued laughing. "My apologies," he responded. Once at a stoplight, he turned to beam at her. "To help make up for the hectic night you have endured for my sake, would you mind if I took you out for some coffee?"

Despite how Sango was inwardly suspicious of his motives, she found herself tempted by the idea of free coffee. Returning the smile with one of her own, she chirped, "Sure, why not?"

* * *

The next day was another seemingly normal work day for everyone at the medical facility. After Miroku finished his check up on Inuyasha's health, he said a few kind words to Kagome and left the pair alone together.

Almost an hour into their session, the frustration began to mount between them yet again. "Inuyasha…" Kagome sighed when he saw his sightless eyes narrow at her. It was not like glaring at her would help him any!

Inuyasha let out a small growl. It seemed like the more she taught him, the more particular she got about what he spelled out on her palm. Even if he managed to make out a phrase for her, she would still correct him on the smallest details and then make him repeat himself.

Noticing that the young man was about to cross his arms, she grabbed for his wrist and finger-spelled, "**Mou ichido**." Once more. "**Gomen. Chotto chigaimasu**." She then apologized and told him that he was only a little off this time around.

"Keh!" the student snorted. Did she not just spell out the same thing to him the last time he tried? This was beginning to become hopeless to him!

"**Inuyasha**," she spelled out, wanting him to try and focus again.

Letting out an annoyed sigh as if to say "fine," Inuyasha pulled on her hand and attempted to finger-spell the latest phrase. "**Itadakimasu**." It was the word used to accept meals or other items.

After going through several tries, the young man had finally managed to get it perfect. Happy about this accomplishment, Kagome gently touched his arm with her unused hand. "You're doing great," she announced out loud, feeling relief that he had finally mastered the new word given to him. Despite how she nitpicked him, she knew that it was just for him to better understand how the wrong character could misspell the words and make the meanings come out completely differently.

When Inuyasha figured out that he had finally done something right, he sat back and let out a huff of annoyance as if all of that work was to prove that he was capable of doing it in the first place.

Kagome could read the expression on his face and rolled her eyes. "You're so stubborn…" she commented.

Before she could continue her lesson, a loud rap came on the door. The loudness of the bangs and the lack of pause between the knocks made the woman stand up from her seat. She knew that something was not right. She placed her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and pulled it away fast as if to signify that she would leave him for a few moments. When she noticed his slight involuntary scowl, she stifled a sigh and went to open the door.

On the other side was the tear-stained face of Shippou. "K-Kagome!" he choked out. "C-can I c-come in?" His eyes gleamed with desperation and sadness.

"Shippou-chan?" Kagome gasped, moving over to let the child roll into the room before shutting the door behind them. All of the sternness she held towards Inuyasha disappeared in an instant, replaced with concern for her friend. "What's the matter?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed when he smelled the familiar metallic scent of the wheelchair. That annoying kid had returned. Why did Kagome constantly let Shippou into his room when it was obvious that he could not get along with him? He was prepared to growl, but he caught another scent that made him falter. Salt.

"M-my o-otou-san!" the child sobbed in anguish. "…H-he's…!"

Kagome's eyes widened, feeling her heart clench for her friend. "W-what happened to your father?"

"…H-he died t-this morning!" Shippou cried.

The girl let out a gasp, quickly following her maternal instincts to drop to her knees in front of the wheelchair and pulling the child into an embrace. "I'm so sorry about your loss…"

"S-someone set the house on fire…a-and h-he b-burned in it!" he choked out into her shoulder.

"Oh no…" Kagome murmured, feeling her eyes watering out of sympathy for her friend. "Shippou…"

As Inuyasha sat quietly, he was able to figure out that Shippou was the one that was crying since ever since the boy entered the room, he noticed the scent of salt. When he noticed that the boy's scent was getting onto Kagome, he figured out that the two were hugging. Despite how he disliked the child, he could not help but frown because he knew that his teacher cared about him.

"N-now I-I'm stuck here!" Shippou sobbed, his small hands around Kagome's neck and clutching at her shirt. He had been hoping that eventually his father would allow him to move into the house.

"If there's any way I can help you, I'll do it," the teacher murmured to her friend as a tear streaked down her own cheek.

After a few moments of silent crying, the pair was interrupted by Ringo's entrance into the room. She frowned, truly feeling pity for the newly orphaned child. "Shippou…" she sighed, last watching him when he decided to bolt off and find Kagome on his own. "I know that you wanted to tell Kagome-chan, but she's working right now…"

Kagome pulled away from Shippou slightly in order to glance up at Ringo. "I-It's fine, Ringo-chan," she assured her friend. She sucked in a shaky breath. "I-I'm not upset about it."

Realizing that he was interrupting her work yet again the young boy reluctantly pushed away from her. "…I-I'm s-sorry, Kagome… s-she's right…" he mumbled quietly. He bowed his head, his red bangs covering his sorrowful eyes.

"Shippou-chan…" the young woman sighed. "…If you still want to talk to me, I can come to your room after I finish with Inuyasha."

"…That's fine…" the child sniffled, looking up at her and forcing a smile despite the tears that still ran down his face. "T-thank you, K-Kagome…" With that, he rotated his chair and led the way out of the room with Ringo following behind him.

Seeing such an expression on the child's face was enough to break Kagome's heart. She turned towards Inuyasha and wiped her eyes in vain since more tears continued to fall. "S-sorry…" she remarked despite knowing that her student could not hear her. Using her free hand, she reached out to touch Inuyasha's arm. "W-we should get back to the lesson…"

Inuyasha let out a soft growl. Unlike all of the other growls, this one was not out of annoyance or irritation. He was frustrated with his own self because he knew that Kagome was crying in front of him and he could not do much to help her. Especially since he figured out that they were supposed to be friends, it pained him to know that she was upset.

Kagome shook her head, wiping her eyes even more. "I k-know you h-hate when I cry…" she added, pulling out Inuyasha's palm to spell out, "**Shippou no otou-san ga shinimashita**." Shippou's father was dead.

Figuring out that the child's name was Shippou, Inuyasha's lips twitched into a frown. Though the kid annoyed him, he could not help but feel bad for him somewhat. From the behavior the boy displayed towards him, he knew that Shippou was not much older than him when his own parents died. So Kagome was only weeping because she felt bad for Shippou? Since when did he become friends with such a selfless person?

"**Gomen**," she signed, feeling bad for delaying their lesson yet again.

Knowing what she meant, the young man jerked onto her arm, pulling her into his arms in order to give her a tight embrace. Even though he could not say anything to get the girl to stop crying, he hoped that actions could speak louder than words.

Kagome's eyes widened yet again, a slight blush staining her cheeks due to surprise. As much as she knew it was inappropriate to give into such an intimate gesture with her pupil, she could not help herself as her arms returned around him. She knew that he was trying to comfort her and faced his chest as more tears fell.

Despite how he disliked how Kagome was crying against him, Inuyasha had to admit that he was growing used to having the young woman in his arms. It was a nice feeling to say the least. If not for the serious situation, he would have surely blushed at such a realization.

After a while, the teacher pulled away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Inuyasha… you were concerned about me…" she murmured, touched by his attempt to comfort her.

Pulling on her hand, Inuyasha finger-spelled, "**Kagome. Watashi no tomodachi**." Kagome was his friend. It was as if he were explaining that that was the reason he had hugged her.

The girl smiled, signing back, "**Arigatou**," on his hand. She honestly knew that she barely had any right to cry for Shippou's pain since she had never known his father. She knew that his agony was obviously worse than hers. She just could not bare it whenever one of her friends was upset.

"**Shippou wa daijoubu deshou**," he then added back as if to say that Shippou would be fine. Inuyasha assumed that he could get through the death of his parents, the child would eventually recover over time.

Kagome's eyes widened, shocked from his attempt to cheer her up. It was the first time he had ever referred to Shippou in a positive type of way. Not only that, but it was the first time he legitimately finger-spelled anything to make her feel better! Was she finally starting to get him to open up? "…You never cease to surprise me…" she commented. Finally making up her mind, she decided to end class earlier than scheduled so that she could talk to Shippou.

After another hour passed, she informed Inuyasha that she would leave and stood up with her things.

Inuyasha inwardly sulked, knowing that she would have to go early. Nevertheless, he did not protest, letting her leave without any complaints. When he was left alone again, he allowed his own shock to surface at his actions. Since when did he care about Shippou? And why did he finger-spell such things to Kagome? Was he going soft? A small light shade of red dusted across his cheeks when he figured out the cause of his newfound kindness.

Kagome was finding her way into his heart quicker than he had ever anticipated. Was friendship supposed to make his heart beat so fast? If so, he never wanted their friendship to stop.

* * *

A/N: Aww… wasn't that last part adorable? I originally planned for a more depressing ending to this chapter but my hands typed out fluff instead. I hope you guys liked this chapter despite how long it took me to finally get it done!

And poor Shippou! I keep killing off or injuring people in this fic… lol. At least Sango and Miroku are starting to get along! Anyways… I'm so glad it didn't take me an another year to update this fic. I hope that I can update even quicker next time.

Be warned… Starting next chapter, I'm going to start skipping large gaps of time. I hope you all can keep up!

Next time: Oh no! A new development in the case of who tried to murder Inuyasha! Will they finally figure out who did it?

Also… self-promotion on my part. Does anyone reading this like Naraku/Kikyou fics or are just curious to see how a legit canon fic with that pairing would go (without bashing anyone)? If so, you should check out my fic called "Conflicted Souls"! I've been updating that fairly often lately.

http :/ www. fanfiction. net /s/4421569/1/ Conflicted_Souls (remove spaces)

-ahem-

Please review!

Ja ne!


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